San Jose Sharks' Erik Karlsson (65) skates on the ice during warmups before their game against the Florida Panthers at the SAP Center in San Jose, Calif., on Thursday, Nov. 3, 2022. (Nhat V. Meyer/Bay Area News Group)
San Jose Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson is back at the Canadian Tire Centre just outside of Ottawa, the building which bore witness to the greatest seasons he’s had since he came into the NHL as a teenager in 2009.
That is, until this year.
After a record-setting month of November, Karlsson enters Saturday’s Sharks game with the Ottawa Senators with 11 goals and 21 assists, totals that not only lead his team and all NHL defensemen but now put him just three points shy of the 35 points he collected in his 50 games last season.
If Karlsson, 32, can keep up this pace over the course of a full year – a big if considering his injury history – he will become the first blueliner to finish with over 100 points since Brian Leetch had 102 in 1991-92 with the New York Rangers.
Karlsson will also be right back in the mix for a third Norris Trophy as the league’s top defenseman, if not the outright favorite, after the two he won two with the Senators in 2012 and 2015.
The only other time Karlsson had a start this fast was in 2015-16 when he had six goals and 26 assists in 26 games with the Senators. He finished that year with 82 points and was second in voting for the Norris Trophy.
“I’ve been feeling good for a while, for a couple of years,” Karlsson said this week. “Obviously right now it’s clicking a little bit more. But I think physically, I think I’m in a good place where I feel I can still do the stuff that I did when I was in my 20s.”
Physical health is always going to be a key for Karlsson considering he’s missed 77 games because of injuries during his four seasons in San Jose. His vision and his playmaking skills have always been elite, but his ability to skate without any hindrances has helped him regain the form he showed earlier in his career.
“(Karlsson’s) driving so many things and he’s such a unique player from the back end that he presents real issues if you don’t take care of that,” said Toronto Maple Leafs coach Sheldon Keefe, who saw Karlsson collect a goal and two assists against his team on Oct. 27.
“He really had his way with us when we were down in San Jose.”
Karlsson didn’t adjust any of his offseason training habits but appears to be in a much better position to succeed, working with a coaching staff that has given him the freedom to be himself and perhaps re-installed some passion into his game.
“I kind of had a good feeling coming into camp that he was in a different mindset for a variety of reasons, namely his health,” Sharks coach David Quinn said. “He was excited about the year and he’s taken on some new responsibility just because of the way our roster’s taken shape over the last three or four months.
“He’s embraced it, and you’re seeing a Norris Trophy-winning defenseman again.”
Sharks general manager Mike Grier was hoping Karlsson would take on a greater role after he traded Brent Burns to the Carolina Hurricanes in July. Burns was a workhorse throughout his time in San Jose but especially the last two years when he averaged over 26 minutes per game, the highest totals of his career.
“I think it’s a good opportunity for Erik to maybe grab the reins a little bit more, play in some different situations, and kind of get back in being the top dog,” Grier said after the trade, “and not have to share the ice in certain situations.”
That’s exactly what has happened.
Karlsson is averaging 25:15 in ice time per game now, the most he’s had since 2017-18, his last year in Ottawa. That’s 1:47 – or about two shifts – more each night than last season.
Karlsson has also so far been on the ice for 68.7 percent of the Sharks’ offensive zone starts, the highest total of his career and an 11.1 percent increase over last season.
Compared to last season, Karlsson’s time on the penalty kill is down an average of over a minute per game to last season. Matt Benning and Marc-Edouard Vlasic have taken up that slack, which has allowed Karlsson to spend more time at even strength and the power play.
So far, Karlsson has scored or assisted on 41.5 percent of the Sharks’ 77 goals this season.
“It’s special to watch,” Benning said Wednesday before the Sharks’ game against the Maple Leafs. “I’ve learned so much from him already, just in the 25 games that we played. A special player.
“And in the defensive zone, he’s played in the league for so long, he’s very experienced back there. He’s sound positionally, he knows where guys are and we lean on him defensively more than people think.”
Trade rumors have surrounded Karlsson more this year than his previous seasons in San Jose because of his health and production, even though his $92 million contract doesn’t expire until after the 2026-27 season.
Karlsson has played down the chatter, but it hasn’t gone away. The Sharks remain open to making a trade if it makes sense for all involved.
Grier told Sportsnet earlier this week that Karlsson recently told him that he’s “fully invested in being a Shark. So we’ll see where that leads us. No doors are closed, and if a situation comes up and makes sense for the organization, it makes sense for Erik and it’s something he wants to pursue, maybe we’ll go down that road.”
For now, Karlsson wants to try and will the Sharks (8-14-4) back into playoff contention, as they’ve lost four of their last five games going into Saturday.
“It’s a reaction sport and I find the more that you try and control it, the less you do,” Karlsson said. “You’re playing against other teams and other players that are trying to do their best and do things to hinder you, and it’s like a big puzzle out there. You can’t solve it until you’re actually there.”
Originally published at Curtis Pashelka