There appears to be no way out of the Karlsson deal for the Sharks; Karlsson says he won't request trade

The fact of the matter is that the last 3 seasons of Karlsson's career have left a lot to be desired. Granted, the Sharks haven't exactly iced a competitive roster during this time, but perhaps a lot of that had to do with Karlsson eating up so much of their cap. Conveniently enough, however, the Sharks' steep decline coincides with the first 3 years of Karlsson's 8-year, $92M deal, which carries an $11.5M AAV.

Karlsson has missed significant time in 3 of the last 4 sesaons, and it could very well have been 4 for 4 had the 2020-21 season not been a COVID-shortened 56-game season. Karlsson is also a cumulative -47 over the last 3 years and has hit the 40-point threshold just once over that span (2019-20).

But regardless of how much the Sharks may regret the idea of the Karlsson trade and subsequent signing behind closed doors, it doesn't appear as though they'll be rid of him anytime soon. In fact, Karlsson, who has had a no-move clause through the full 8-year term of his deal (including the 5 remaining years), went on the record on Wednesday, stating that he has no plans of requesting a trade out of San Jose.

Here's hoping, for both sides, that Karlsson and the Sharks can turn it all around and make some waves in the Pacific Division this season. Karlsson, now 32, isn't getting any younger. A rebound season would go a long way in proving that he's still got it and can still play a high level of hockey and, from the Sharks' perspective, I'm sure they'd rather be paying Karlsson $11.5M per season over the next 5 years to get his career back on track rather than to keep trending in the wrong direction.

Credit: TSN.ca via The Athletic