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Sharks re-sign Erik Karlsson to 8-year deal

Karlsson is set to become the league’s highest-paid defender.

Per TSN’s Bob MacKenzie and The Athletic’s Pierre LeBrun, the San Jose Sharks have re-signed top defenseman — and would-be top Unrestricted Free Agent — Erik Karlsson to the maximum eight-year contract. While the contract details have not been released, the average annual value is expected to be around $11.5 million, making Karlsson the highest paid defender in the league and only the second active defender with an AAV over $11 million (after Drew Doughty, who signed an eight-year, $88 million contract with the Los Angeles Kings last year).

This re-signing finalizes the trade with the Ottawa Senators that first sent Karlsson to San Jose. The final caveat will send the San Jose’s second-round pick in 2021 to Ottawa. The trade also involved Dylan DeMelo, Chris Tierney, Rudolphs Balcers, Josh Norris, the Sharks’ 2020 first-round pick and a 2019 second-round pick. The Sharks also received prospect Francis Perron.

Karlsson played 53 regular season games and 19 playoff games with the Sharks in the 2018-19 season, sitting out part of the season with a nagging groin injury. He underwent surgery on his groin on May 31 and is expected to be ready for the start of the 2019-20 season.

Update:

Per CapFriendly, here are the terms of the deal, which includes a full no-movement clause:

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