SAN JOSE -- At his introductory press conference Wednesday afternoon, new Sharks defenseman Erik Karlsson drew an interesting parallel when he was asked about trying to fit into a new team, after being the leading man for so long.
The Swede mentioned playing for his national team at best-on-best tournaments; first at the Sochi Olympics in 2014, and then at the World Cup of Hockey two years later.
"It was something that I always enjoyed," Karlsson told reporters, "And I think that it challenged me to do things in a different way sometimes … I'm looking forward to that here as well."
It's not necessarily an outlandish comparison. The salary-capped Sharks aren't as good as a Swedish national team that, if its latest World Cup iteration played in the NHL, would have been about $28 million over the current upper limit. But, Karlsson's move from the 67-point Ottawa Senators to the 100-point Sharks in last week's blockbuster trade represents a significant upgrade in the talent surrounding him.
The two-time Norris Trophy winner joins a defense corps featuring another Norris recipient (Brent Burns) and a shutdown defenseman with international pedigree of his own (Marc-Edouard Vlasic), on a team led by a Hart Trophy winner (Joe Thornton), the NHL's sixth-leading scorer since 2013-14 (Joe Pavelski), and the fourth-best player by Corsica Hockey's wins above replacement (WAR) model last season (Logan Couture).
"We're a good hockey team," Sharks general manager Doug Wilson said. "We still have a lot of work ahead of us. There's a lot of good teams in the West, but I think [the Karlsson trade] puts us in position to have the ingredients to go compete with all the top teams."
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Karlsson, then, just might be the active ingredient for a franchise still looking for its first Stanley Cup. He has two Norris Trophies to his name, four first-team All-Star appearances, and more points than any other defenseman since he entered the league. He led the Senators to within a double-overtime goal of the Stanley Cup Final just over a year ago, and scored more points than all but five defenders in a "down" year last season.
If anything, Karlsson may have undersold his role on the Swedish national team when making the comparison.
At the Sochi Olympics, Karlsson tied for the tournament lead with eight points, winning a silver medal. The Swedes weren't as successful at the World Cup two years ago, but Karlsson still tied for the team lead in scoring. He also led his team in ice time in three out of four games, edging out the likes of Tampa Bay's Victor Hedman and Arizona's Oliver Ekman-Larsson.
The former ultimately won the Norris Trophy last season, while the latter will have the third-highest salary cap hit ($8.25 million) of any defenseman next season, when his eight-year contract extension kicks in.
In other words? "He's one of the best players on the planet," according to Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer, and not just because of his offensive ability.
"We can use him in every situation," DeBoer said Wednesday of his newest defenseman, adding that Karlsson was one of "very few players in the world that you could use in the last minute of games when you're up to shut down the other team's best players, or use to create offense when you're behind."
Karlsson sounded very aware of the situation he's joining in San Jose. He knows he's coming to a team that's "been together for a long time that has good chemistry," and he said it's on him to find a way to fit in by doing whatever is asked of him.
DeBoer indicated he will simply ask the four-time, first-team All-Star to be himself.
"I don't think there's any adjustment," DeBoer said. "We play up-tempo. We play aggressive. We play the way he plays.
"He's gonna fit right in."
