SAN JOSE, Calif. _ In what can easily be described as one of biggest trades in franchise history, the Sharks acquired defenseman Erik Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators in a blockbuster multi-player deal Thursday morning.
Karlsson, 28, is a two-time Norris Trophy winner with 518 points in 627 career NHL games.
According to the Ottawa Sun, the Sharks are trading to the Senators center Chris Tierney, defenseman Dylan DeMelo and prospects Josh Norris and Rudolfs Balcers. The Sharks are also trading to Ottawa their 2020 first-round draft pick, their 2019 second-round draft pick and two conditional picks.
Karlsson is slated to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2019. If San Jose re-signs Karlsson, Ottawa also receives a conditional 2021 second-round selection.
The Sharks also receive back from the Senators prospect forward Francis Perron.
The acquisition of Karlsson, who won the Norris Trophy in 2012 and 2015, is a clear indication that it's a Stanley Cup-or-bust season for the Sharks, who, along with Brent Burns, arguably now have the two most dynamic offensive defensemen in the NHL, and one of the league's top shutdown defenseman in Marc-Edouard Vlasic. Burns, who won the Norris Trophy in 2017, has 218 points in the last three seasons.
"It's extremely rare that players of this caliber become available," general manager Doug Wilson said in a statement. "The word 'elite' is often thrown around casually but Erik's skillset and abilities fit that description like few other players in today's game.
"With Erik, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic, we feel we have three of the NHL's top defensemen and stand as a better team today than we were yesterday. We are thrilled to welcome Erik and his wife, Melinda, to San Jose.
To acquire Karlsson, who is coming off a 62-point, 71-game season, the Sharks had to part with their third-line center in Tierney, 25, and a third pairing defenseman in DeMelo, 24. Both Tierney and DeMelo signed contract extensions this summer.
Norris, 19, was the Sharks' first-round draft choice, 19th overall, in 2017, and Balcers, 21, was a Sharks' fifth-round pick in 2015. Norris was scheduled to return for his sophomore season at Michigan this fall, and Balcers was thought to have an outside chance of cracking the Sharks' roster for opening night.
"Ultimately, to acquire a player like this, you have to give to get and we are losing some quality players but also some very good people," Wilson said. "All of the players leaving our organization have a very bright future in this league and we wish them all the best."
The key to the deal may have been the draft choices the Sharks had to deal away. The Sharks were without a first-round draft pick for 2019, but had to part with other high-round selections to get a trade done with the rebuilding Senators.
Still, the Sharks were able to complete the deal without giving up arguably their top prospect in Ryan Merkley, their 2018 first-round pick, or an established NHL player like Timo Meier, 21, who finished last season with 21 goals and 36 points in 81 games. Meier was San Jose's first-round selection in 2015.
Tierney signed a two-year, $5.875 million deal with the Sharks on July 18, and was coming off his best NHL season with 40 points in 82 games. DeMelo had also just signed a two-year deal, with his worth $1.8 million.
