First of all, Sharks fan here, visiting in peace. I think it’s pretty clear the Sharks are looking to rebuild (finally), would be more than open to finding a trading partner for Karlsson.
It also seems to me that the Wings might be on the cusp of competing, have some great young players, some prospects on the way, and also have accumulated some draft assets to use towards adding talent to their NHL roster.
Okay, preamble completed, here’s the proposal:
+ Erik Karlsson @8.5M x 4 ($3M retained)
+ choice of Barabanov/Kunin @2.5M x 1
+ 2023 1st (Detroit’s choice of the two)
+ 2024 1st (Sharks’ choice of the two)
+ 2x 2023 2nd (Detroit’s choices)
+ 2024 2nd
My thinking here is (and feel free to flame away):
Karlsson: adds a premiere RD to the Wings for the next 4 years. He’s good for 60-70pts as a baseline, elite PPQB, potential PPG+ seasons. It’s Karlsson you know the deal. The retention turns a painful contract into fair market value if not a little budget friendly if he’s really producing, like this year.
Barabanov/Kunin: Wings can choose between a smallish offensive oriented, puck possession, complimentary top 9 winger or a north/south gritty middle six winger, who plays a heavy game and is a good net front presence. If it was me, I’d go with Barabanov because I think he’s super-versatile in a top 9 offensive role, fits on the PP, and produces a lot of offense for his cap hit. But I’m not super familiar with the Wings’ needs in the middle of their forward group.
All in all, I’m sure it’d be painful to loose that many picks at the top of the draft, but Wings would still keep some of their high picks, keep all their prospects, and have plenty of cap space to add some free agent pickups (maybe adding Karlsson makes Detroit a more attractive destination for UFAs?)