What would it take for the San Jose Sharks to trade Erik Karlsson?

Daily Faceoff’s insider Frank Seravalli joined Matt Larkin and Steven Ellis on Friday’s edition of Daily Faceoff Live to discuss what the San Jose Sharks need to adjust in order to move Erik Karlsson at the NHL trade deadline in this week’s Ice Breakers segment:

Steven Ellis: Frank, Erik Karlsson is moving up (the trade board), what’s it going to take for him to get dealt?

Frank Seravalli: It’s going to take the San Jose Sharks to retain more, I believe, than just the 18 to 20 percent that they currently have on the table. Either that, or their ask is going to have to change in a pretty drastic way because what we know when the ask is when they retain 18 or 20 percent was three first-round picks or pick equivalents in exchange for Karlson. I know that he’s been at an incredibly elite level this season with 70 points, and is second in the league in assists, tied with Connor McDavid.

But with that contract as the highest-paid defenseman in the NHL, with the term remaining, four years left on his deal, I think the sharks are going to, instead of 18 to 20 percent, which would knock him down to the $9 million, $9.5 million range, I think they need to get in the $7 million range in order to be able to command a significant return of assets.

And I think what you would get, if you were to dip even further – if you’re the Sharks, what’s really the difference between retaining $2 million or $4 million or $5 million on Carlson’s contract? You’re rebuilding, so you shouldn’t be near the cap. I think the opportunity should be on the table for the sharks to retain as much as 50 percent to really make the asset return worth their while because as currently constituted, that wasn’t moving the needle for teams.

You can watch the full episode here: