The latest on the Leafs and Erik Karlsson
Per several reports from a number of the Insiders last week, the Toronto Maple Leafs had checked in with the San Jose Sharks on superstar defenseman Erik Karlsson, who just won his 3rd Norris Trophy.
While there were still a ton of question marks surrounding just how interested the Leafs really were in Karlsson, nobody really had any real indication whether the interest from Toronto was legitimate or just Brad Treliving kicking some tires. Well, now we have a better idea of where things stand.
Per TSN Insider Pierre LeBrun, the Leafs are not believed to be among the frontrunners for Erik Karlsson. He lists the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes and Seattle Kraken as the 3 most interested parties.
The biggest hurdle here for the Leafs is the fact that Sharks GM Mike Grier seemingly has no intention of retaining anything close to 50% of Karlsson's $11.5M cap hit. The latest word on retention on Karlsson was that Grier intends to retain no more than 20%.
