The Senators are having a fire sale and Doug Wilson is browsing the catalog. The struggling Sens have already unloaded Derick Brassard to the Penguins (via the Golden Knights in some definitely not cap circumventing maneuvers), Dion Phaneuf and Nate Thompson to the Los Angeles Kings, as well as minor league deals sending Vincent Dunn to the Golden Knights and Chris DiDomenico to the Chicago Blackhawks.
But the big money is still in Ottawa for the time being and the Sharks want in. Maybe.
Hearing that San Jose among the several teams who have talked to Ottawa regarding Erik Karlsson. Not sure there’s a match there, but not surprised either by the Sharks doing due diligence. They’re big-game hunters, went after Stamkos 2 yrs ago, traded for Thornton/Burns…
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 24, 2018
And I guess it’s worth pointing out that if Bobby Ryan is to be part of any Karlsson deal…. the Sharks have tons of cap room. But again, not sure it will go anywhere with San Jose… I have a hard time seeing a fit but who knows…
— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) February 24, 2018
Plenty of cap room, indeed. The Sharks are sitting on $20,822,328 in cap room, per CapFriendly.
Karlsson is under contract through next season with a cap hit of $6.5 million. Bobby Ryan is under contract until 2022 (where he will be 34 years old) at a cap hit of $7.25 million. The Sharks are in a great position to take both contracts, even without sending players back or salary retention, both things that would be involved in a trade of this caliber.
MacKenzie says Ottawa is no longer just listening, but actively negotiating different trade possibilities for Karlsson with a few teams.
— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) February 24, 2018
While there’s no news if the Sharks are still involved, the Montreal Canadiens are confirmed as a third party in the Erik Karlsson sweepstakes, possibly taking on part of Ryan’s contract.
Per source, the Montreal Canadiens have been engaged as a third-party team in an Erik Karlsson trade.
— Travis Yost (@travisyost) February 24, 2018
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