Finding comfort after tough year
Sharks’ big offseason addition starting to show form
“I’m going to do my best to stay as focused as I can on the ice and enjoy the good moments I have there.” Erik Karlsson, Sharks defenseman
Pardon Erik Karlsson if he’s more comfortable on frozen water than he is in the water, especially along the California coast.
The Sharks defenseman is afraid of the team’s namesake predator, and his friends were quick to take the bait when he was traded from Ottawa to San Jose on Sept. 13. Along with their congratulations, they sent him great white shark photos and memes.
“That is true,” Karlsson said with a laugh at Sharks Ice recently. “In my inner circle, that’s pretty known; sharks aren’t my thing. They’re one of my favorite animals, but they’re also terrifying. I don’t go in the ocean very often.”
Karlsson, 28, is gradually becoming more comfortable in Sharks territory, but not only has he had to deal with getting traded for the first time in his career — he and his wife, Melinda, have had a tremendously difficult year overall.
The Karlssons lost their first child, a stillborn boy named Axel Michael, on March 19. Then they had to deal with online harassment, including threats and comments about the death of their child. They allege it came from Monika Caryk, the girlfriend of Karlsson’s former Senators teammate Mike Hoffman, who now plays for the Florida Panthers.
Melinda Karlsson applied
for an order of protection in May against Caryk, but one was never granted by the court. Caryk has denied the allegations and initiated legal proceedings to try to clear her name in advance of any potential court date. Ottawa police opened an investigation, but have not issued any charges.
According to court filings, as reported by the Ottawa Citizen, Karlsson’s wife claimed Caryk had been jealous of her recent engagement, but the accused characterized her relationship with Melinda as civil. In her court deposition, Caryk said she felt ostracized from team wives and girfriends by Melinda and felt animosity toward her and others, the Citizen reported.
“It hasn’t been a great year,” Karlsson said. “Everyone goes through things, I think my wife and I have handled everything that’s been going on as well as we possibly can and we’re moving forward. You just try to do the best you can and that’s been our mind-set all year.
“It’s not something you can prepare for, but she’s been the rock in the whole thing and allowed me to do what I do professionally and allow us to grow together and give us more strength for other situations.”
The Karlssons already had been discussing spearheading an antibullying campaign, and in the wake of the harassment Melinda endured on social media, they started a charity in September called Can’t Dim My Light.
“It’s more about education than anything, because things are going to happen with kids and with adults,” he said. “If you get them help and they can understand each other and be kind to each other, even the bullies can have friends.”
Saturday, the Senators’ former captain will return to Ottawa for the first time since the deal that included sending forwards Chris Tierney, Rudolfs Balcers, defenseman Dylan DeMelo and two conditional draft picks to the Senators.
Karlsson said he hasn’t thought about the reunion much.
“I know it’s coming up, but I’ve had so many other things to deal with,” he said. “I’m going to do my best to stay as focused as I can on the ice and enjoy the good moments I have there. I’m sure it will feel a little awkward and different but that’s as expected. It’s going to be fun.”
Karlsson’s career in San Jose got off to a slow start: He went without a goal in the team’s first 20 games. But the more time he spends with his teammates, the better his performance. He scored his first goal in a Nov. 17 victory at St. Louis and two games later had a goal and two assists in a win over Vancouver at home. He hasn’t scored since, as the Sharks (12-9) lost three in a row to start their five-game trip.
“I’ve been around long enough in this league to know there are going to be stretches where not everything is going to go your way,” Karlsson said. “I was just figuring out what I needed to do to be successful. I didn’t change anything, really, from Game 1 to Game 21. It’s been going a little bit easier and that’s just with everyone getting more comfortable with each other.”
Sharks coach Peter DeBoer said veterans with leadership experience generally handle funks pretty well, and he pointed to Joe Pavelski’s early struggles this season and Brent Burns’ issues to begin last season.
“We’re starting to see more and more,” he said of Karlsson. “We saw glimpses of the player we know he is early, but inconsistent glimpses; as he’s gotten more comfortable with us and our system and his own set-up off the ice with his family, you can see every day he’s getting better.
“We’re just seeing the tip of what he’s capable of going forward.”
Karlsson’s reputation is as an offensive defenseman, making his goal drought the more jarring, but his defensive play wasn’t lacking, said DeBoer, who noted analytics showed Karlsson was doing all the right things. Karlsson knows the deal, though. Once tagged as an offensive standout, it’s tough to shed that label, even when the defensive work is commendable.
“I obviously know what the narrative is for a guy like me and there’s nothing I can do about that,” Karlsson said with a smile. “It’s something you have to accept. As long as my teammates and coaches trust in me, which they have for 600plus games, I have no issues or concerns about that. That’s for other people to worry about.”
There’s not much worry, really. Karlsson is just the second Sweden native to win the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman, doing so in 2012 and ’15. The other was Nicklas Lidstrom, who claimed the honor six times while playing for the Red Wings. Unsurprisingly, Lidstrom was Karlsson’s primary influence while growing up.
“He was the main defenseman we got the most coverage of and not only me but everyone in my age group idolized and watched him,” Karlsson said. “He’s been a huge part of growing the Swedish game and making players passionate and dedicated about it; we have him to thank for that. And he’s a great guy off the ice, too.”
The Sharks know what kind of player they acquired. Fellow defenseman Justin Braun called Karlsson “a generational talent,” and DeBoer said, “When he’s on his game, he’s controlling the game like few guys I’ve seen.”
“He has great composure with the puck,” the coach said. “He has a fearlessness to make plays through people and past people to open up ice, which is very rare, and he also has the feet to do it himself and skate it. It’s a real unique package and that makes him one of the most valuable players in the world.”
Sharks forward Logan Couture didn’t enjoy dealing with Karlsson as an opponent.
“He’s tough,” Couture said. “He’s so fast and when he has the puck, he draws defenders to him and then makes a play to an open guy. You have to know every time he’s on the ice because he can jump into the rush and create odd-man opportunities.”
Asked whom Karlsson reminds him of, DeBoer points to Detroit’s former captain and even goes a step further.
“I think about Nick Lidstrom and the way he played — Erik has a lot of that but might be a little more dynamic,” DeBoer said. “He doesn’t have the Stanley Cup résumé yet — but hopefully we can change that.”