Karlsson’s health a big factor
Two-time Norris Trophy winner will have to lead way to playoffs
A quick scan of the defensemen who finished in the top four in Norris Trophy voting last season reveals two commonalities — they all had at least 50 points and they were all either 29 or 30 years old.
Nashville’s Roman Josi, who turned 30 in June, won the award after he finished second among all NHL defensemen in scoring with 65 points. Washington’s John Carlson, who just turned 31 on Monday, finished second after he led all defensemen with 75 points.
Neither is some fresh-legged babe in the woods who took the league by storm. They’ve both been in the NHL a long time and they play big, important minutes in crucial situations for their teams, and pile up points.
The San Jose Sharks have their own defenseman who fits that exact description. And now Erik Karlsson, at 30 years old, is healthy again.
For the first time since he joined the Sharks, Karlsson appears to be completely ready for the start of a season. His last game was almost 11 months ago, plenty of time to get his body and his mind right for the upcoming 56-game season.
The biggest questions about Karlsson since he joined the Sharks in September 2018 have been about his health. At his introductory press conference at a downtown San Jose hotel, Karlsson was asked if the ankle surgery he had the year before would at all affect his play going forward.
There was the groin injury that partly derailed the Sharks’ hopes for a Stanley Cup in 2019. The subsequent groin surgery shortly after the Sharks’ playoff run ended that hampered
Karlsson’s ability to train in the summer — and get off to a fast start last season.
Karlsson had 10 points in his first 14 games last season but never looked totally at ease. The Sharks got off to a 4-9-1 start and rallied in November to get to 15-12-1, but the wheels fell off before Christmas with nine losses in 10 games, sealing their fate as a non-playoff team.
It’s no secret that fairly or unfairly, some Sharks fans blamed the contract that Karlsson signed with the team on June 17, 2019 — $92 million over eight years — for costing the team the chance to resign Joe Pavelski, their former captain.
Two weeks later, Pavelski signed a three-year, $21 million contract with Dallas and helped the Stars reach the Stanley Cup Finals in September. The Sharks, meanwhile, watched the playoffs on television.
Karlsson heard those complaints as well, but maybe that can be put to bed.
The best way to do that would be for Karlsson to start strong and lead the Sharks to a playoff spot. It’s not all on his shoulders, of course, as Brent Burns, Logan Couture, Evander Kane, Tomas Hertl and the goaltenders all have to do their part, too.