» KARLSSON TRADE HAS SHARKS IN CONVERSATION

It shouldn’t be this easy. You’re not supposed to be able to trade for a player like Erik Karlsson — a generational talent and one of the five best players in the NHL, who is entering the prime of his career.

You’re not supposed to be able to give up for next to nothing to land him, either.

And assimilating a player like that to a new team shouldn’t be a painless process. Players the caliber of Karlsson can carry a prodigious ego, but the defenseman gives out nothing but good vibes and receives nothing but glowing recommendations.

I’m a pessimist by nature — I’m a human truffle pig, but for worst-case scenarios — and for the last week, since the San Jose Sharks acquired Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators, I’ve been trying to find a way this deal backfires. I’ve yet to find anything. Karlsson is one of hockey’s unquestionably elite players who makes the Sharks an unquestionably elite team, but he seems just as elite off of the ice. The 27year-old Swede fit in well with his new Sharks teammates at his first practice, and he was charming, humble, and legitimately funny in his introductory press conference at the San Jose Hilton on Wednesday.

He even shoots from the right side — which allows the Sharks to keep their blue line in balance and creates a natural, perfect combo with the left-handed shooting and defensive-minded Marc-Eduard Vlasic as San Jose’s top defensive pairing.

(Karlsson somehow looks good in teal, too — what can’t this guy do?)

So you can’t blame Sharks general manager Doug Wilson for being unable to hide his proud smirk at the dais at the introductory presser.

Make no mistake, the Sharks acquiring Karlsson is a move that’s close to on-par with the Warriors signing Kevin Durant, and yet there seems to be no baggage, no serious challenges, and no downside to it.

At least when the Warriors acquired Durant, a vocal but ill-informed group of people declared that Golden State compromised the core — and soul — of their team and that Stephen Curry and Durant would never be able to work together.

We’re not even getting that kind of artificial drama with this move — no one is declaring that “there’s only one puck” for the Sharks this year.

Yes, everyone agrees that the Sharks came out gangbusters in this trade and that belief was only furthered on Wednesday. In fact, that consensus is so strong that Wilson tried to hammer home the concept that he made a fair trade with the Senators.

He didn’t, but that’s just him doing his job well. And you can’t fault the guy for trying to be nice about ripping off a downand-out team.

Karlsson has one year remaining on his contract — he can leave San Jose at the end of the season, if he so chooses, and he’s sure to command top dollar if he hits the free agent market. The Sharks have already begun the recruitment process to keep him in the South Bay, but he cannot sign a maximum eight-year extension with the Sharks until after the NHL’s trade deadline at the end of February (should he so desire). So don’t expect a resolution to the looming free agency issue anytime soon.

But even if the Sharks only get one year of the dynamic defenseman, a player who led the NHL in assists two seasons ago (a patently absurd stat), it’ll be worth it.

Karlsson makes the Sharks a Stanley Cup favorite, the equal or better than every team in a loaded Western Conference and only trailing Eastern Conference teams on the overall Westgate odds because of competition. So if ever there was a Sharks team to break through and win its first title, this is the one. Make no mistake, the Sharks had enough to do it without Karlsson, so what will adding him do?

This puts some serious pressure on Sharks’ head coach Pete DeBoer, though.

DeBoer was just as thrilled as Wilson on Wednesday — after all, there’s an average of 72 points per year (again, from the blue line, which isn’t even close to normal) to be thrilled about having — but now he has to find a way to make all of this prodigious talent work together.

DeBoer has twice taken teams to the Stanley Cup Final (his first year in New Jersey, 2011, and San Jose, 2016) but playing for the trophy simply won’t be enough in 2019. Even with the lopsidedness of this deal, you can’t waste a golden opportunity like this. Who knows when the Sharks will have this much talent again?

When Karlsson hits the ice in a game — his debut is still up in the air — I’m fascinated to see how DeBoer uses him. The Sharks’ coach is an ideologue for an aggressive forecheck, which can stymie offensive-minded defensemen. And while DeBoer has done an excellent job in coaching Brent Burns — the only other defenseman in the world in Karlsson’s class as an offensive blueliner — but there is stress between Burns’ desire to push forward and DeBoer’s system, which we saw manifest a bit last year.

Now DeBoer has to handle the zeal of both Burns and Karlsson.

It’s corny, but it’s appropriate: With great power comes great responsibility.

And Wilson just gave DeBoer one of the most powerful lineups in the NHL — now the coach has to come through.

I don’t think it’ll be difficult to make things click — DeBoer is a good coach and the Sharks have a rock-solid system and team chemistry — success is never automatic, even if Karlsson gave every impression Wednesday that it will be.