Karlsson's 2019-2020 season

Pavelski2112

Bold as Boognish
Dec 15, 2011
14,490
9,158
San Jose, California
Yeah but he has always been inconsistent....so to claim that he is now struggling because he is still inconsistent is well odd. He was on pace to shatter his career high in pts before his mid season injury (another non surprising issue for him sadly) and is now absolutely killing it in the playoffs so far. Once again if that is struggling, I want our players to struggle that well

Oh sure, I don't think he's much different now than he was in SJ. I don't agree that he's struggling, but I think there's just always been this nagging that he could be so much more.
 

OrrNumber4

Registered User
Jul 25, 2002
15,715
4,975
Yeah but he has always been inconsistent....so to claim that he is now struggling because he is still inconsistent is well odd. He was on pace to shatter his career high in pts before his mid season injury (another non surprising issue for him sadly) and is now absolutely killing it in the playoffs so far. Once again if that is struggling, I want our players to struggle that well

Wasn't he a healthy scratch this season? His possession numbers look horrible...IIRC there was some tenet that Donskoi had like 5 points in the new year...

Against a good defensive team who checks well, he'll crumble again.
 
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Dicdonya

Registered User
Jul 21, 2011
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Wasn't he a healthy scratch this season? His possession numbers look horrible...IIRC there was some tenet that Donskoi had like 5 points in the new year...

Against a good defensive team who checks well, he'll crumble again.

Maybe he will, but so far he is doing the opposite of struggling when the games matter and he is healthy. Guess we will find out if he can keep it up.
 

Doctor Soraluce

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
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How would the team have looked if we didn’t make the move for Karlsson?

Kane-Hertl-Pavs
Hoffman-Couture-Meier
Donskoi-Norris-Labanc
Balcers -Thornton-Sorensen

Vlasic-Burns
Dillon-Braun
Simek-Demelo(?)

I’m a big believer in their being no substitute for elite talent, but the middle of the line-up is seriously lacking quality.

that said, some of that depth (and likely the first) would have definitely gone for a quality D. Maybe someone like Gardiner?
Pass. I'd rather have EK65 for 9 seasons.
 

Doctor Soraluce

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
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Yeah but he has always been inconsistent....so to claim that he is now struggling because he is still inconsistent is well odd. He was on pace to shatter his career high in pts before his mid season injury (another non surprising issue for him sadly) and is now absolutely killing it in the playoffs so far. Once again if that is struggling, I want our players to struggle that well
Who is he playing with? Could be a huge difference. Also not worth his contract IMO.
 

Dicdonya

Registered User
Jul 21, 2011
4,438
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Who is he playing with? Could be a huge difference. Also not worth his contract IMO.

100% worth his contract in year one. More than can be said of Karlsson for us thus far.

To answer your question he plays most with Burakovsky, and one of Kadri/Compher.
 

Levie

Registered User
Mar 15, 2011
14,553
4,213
Why does everyone hate Karlsson again?
Unrealistically high expectations that he didn't live up to in the regular season. Dude helped us get to the WCF on one leg and played his heart out.

Also bitterness that somehow he was the only reason we didn't re-sign pavelski when all indicators show that signing him to the deal he got would be unwise.
 

CanadienShark

Registered User
Dec 18, 2012
37,357
10,608
Hard to say. He had dominant stretches, but injuries hurt him yet again. He's clearly not consistent, whether that injuries, personal life, a combination, or just being inconsistent as a player. I think this reset could help him big time, but who knows. Our team needs to reset though. Rebuild around Karlsson. We can't force him to adapt. We need to adapt to him. He's now our franchise player, for better or worse.

We generally love Karlsson here.
 

Sharksrule04

Registered User
Jul 23, 2010
3,697
1,229
New York, NY
Why does everyone hate Karlsson again?

Unrealistically high expectations that he didn't live up to in the regular season. Dude helped us get to the WCF on one leg and played his heart out.

Also bitterness that somehow he was the only reason we didn't re-sign pavelski when all indicators show that signing him to the deal he got would be unwise.


He really didn’t. That Sharks team had amazing forward depth. I’m not one of the people who is against EK65, but I think the whole “people hate Karlsson” is misleading. He can and should be criticized. He is the highest paid Dman in the league and highest paid Sharks player by a decent amount. Unrealistic expectations...seriously? If you can’t have super high expectations for a Dman getting paid as much as the best players in the entire world, who can you have high expectations for? This years Sharks team as a whole underperformed. Karlsson sure didn’t have a ton of help but let’s not pretend Karlsson was at his best and I think that is most people’s arguments. If your going to make 11M you better be at your best most of the time. Karlsson simply wasn’t.

From what I’ve read on this board the two arguments here mostly are “Karlsson is elite and was worth re-signing even at 11M” and “Karlsson is not performing up to the expectations of 11M”. Both statements have valid arguments to support them doesn’t mean you’re an EK65 fanboy or hater.

Edit: Adding Pavs should never have been re-signed at the amount he received. If anything I would have rather brought back Nyquist and Donskoi. Pavs is and always will be a Sharks legend but he isn’t worth 7M per year anymore.
 

Pavelski2112

Bold as Boognish
Dec 15, 2011
14,490
9,158
San Jose, California
He really didn’t. That Sharks team had amazing forward depth. I’m not one of the people who is against EK65, but I think the whole “people hate Karlsson” is misleading. He can and should be criticized. He is the highest paid Dman in the league and highest paid Sharks player by a decent amount. Unrealistic expectations...seriously? If you can’t have super high expectations for a Dman getting paid as much as the best players in the entire world, who can you have high expectations for? This years Sharks team as a whole underperformed. Karlsson sure didn’t have a ton of help but let’s not pretend Karlsson was at his best and I think that is most people’s arguments. If your going to make 11M you better be at your best most of the time. Karlsson simply wasn’t.

From what I’ve read on this board the two arguments here mostly are “Karlsson is elite and was worth re-signing even at 11M” and “Karlsson is not performing up to the expectations of 11M”. Both statements have valid arguments to support them doesn’t mean you’re an EK65 fanboy or hater.

Edit: Adding Pavs should never have been re-signed at the amount he received. If anything I would have rather brought back Nyquist and Donskoi. Pavs is and always will be a Sharks legend but he isn’t worth 7M per year anymore.

Even the strongest EK defenders here, including myself, have said he hasn't played worth his contract, but he absolutely was a huge part of that Vegas series. The guy had 9 points in 7 games.
 
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Mafoofoo

Jawesome
Jul 3, 2010
18,900
5,047
Laguna Beach
I’d have preferred we not trade for him.

He’s good but we didn’t need him as we had Burns. Plus unlike Burns he’s a walking IR and waste of cap space.

I’ll root for him cuz he wears the jersey but I don’t feel like he’s a Shark. Instead he’s some dude in a Sharks jersey if that makes sense.
 

Lebanezer

I'unno? Coast Guard?
Jul 24, 2006
14,756
10,263
San Jose
I’d have preferred we not trade for him.

He’s good but we didn’t need him as we had Burns. Plus unlike Burns he’s a walking IR and waste of cap space.

I’ll root for him cuz he wears the jersey but I don’t feel like he’s a Shark. Instead he’s some dude in a Sharks jersey if that makes sense.
I know exactly what you mean. I don’t know that he fully comprehends that he’s not a senator anymore. While in Ottawa he was deified. That was never going to happen here. He looks slightly bewildered that he isn’t the center of everything.
 

Doctor Soraluce

Registered User
Sep 28, 2017
7,051
4,459
He really didn’t. That Sharks team had amazing forward depth. I’m not one of the people who is against EK65, but I think the whole “people hate Karlsson” is misleading. He can and should be criticized. He is the highest paid Dman in the league and highest paid Sharks player by a decent amount. Unrealistic expectations...seriously? If you can’t have super high expectations for a Dman getting paid as much as the best players in the entire world, who can you have high expectations for? This years Sharks team as a whole underperformed. Karlsson sure didn’t have a ton of help but let’s not pretend Karlsson was at his best and I think that is most people’s arguments. If your going to make 11M you better be at your best most of the time. Karlsson simply wasn’t.

From what I’ve read on this board the two arguments here mostly are “Karlsson is elite and was worth re-signing even at 11M” and “Karlsson is not performing up to the expectations of 11M”. Both statements have valid arguments to support them doesn’t mean you’re an EK65 fanboy or hater.

Edit: Adding Pavs should never have been re-signed at the amount he received. If anything I would have rather brought back Nyquist and Donskoi. Pavs is and always will be a Sharks legend but he isn’t worth 7M per year anymore.
It's not that black and white. My argument is not that he's worth the 11.5 so much. It's that the Sharks hands were tied if they intended to be a contender over the next 5 or 6 seasons. They needed an elite talent somewhere in the lineup and he fits the description. The 11.5 was the cost of doing business. Letting him walk would have left the team in more dire straits IMO because the team would have been good enough to make the playoffs and pick late. In a normal world where the cap keeps increasing the 11.5 would have been manageable, but this flat cap thing hurts for the next couple years unless DW pulls a few amazing deals. Not impossible, but definitely difficult. Because no high end UFAs sign here without a trade first this is the type of option they had. His production rate has remained consistent throughout so I'm still not convinced he's done. He was leading the team in scoring prior to his freak hand injury. He's a defenseman not a miracle worker. Lets see how he does if DW adds some additional skill this next season.
 
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WSS11

Registered User
Oct 7, 2009
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I know exactly what you mean. I don’t know that he fully comprehends that he’s not a senator anymore. While in Ottawa he was deified. That was never going to happen here. He looks slightly bewildered that he isn’t the center of everything.

I’m glad I’m not alone in thinking this. He truly just feels like a hired mercenary wearing teal. Unlike guys like Joe or Burns who were traded from teams they loved and bought in to bleeding teal almost immediately. Erik had that “want to win for the city” passion in Ottawa, not so much in SJ.

Maybe I’m reading a little too much into it but that’s just the vibe I get from him too.
 
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FunkyPhin

Registered User
Feb 2, 2011
1,677
923
Vancouver
I know exactly what you mean. I don’t know that he fully comprehends that he’s not a senator anymore. While in Ottawa he was deified. That was never going to happen here. He looks slightly bewildered that he isn’t the center of everything.

I’m glad I’m not alone in thinking this. He truly just feels like a hired mercenary wearing teal. Unlike guys like Joe or Burns who were traded from teams they loved and bought in to bleeding teal almost immediately. Erik had that “want to win for the city” passion in Ottawa, not so much in SJ.

Maybe I’m reading a little too much into it but that’s just the vibe I get from him too.

I mean the dude has yet to play a full season here, maybe lets give the guy some time to adjust before we start questioning his city allegiances
 
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Levie

Registered User
Mar 15, 2011
14,553
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I’m glad I’m not alone in thinking this. He truly just feels like a hired mercenary wearing teal. Unlike guys like Joe or Burns who were traded from teams they loved and bought in to bleeding teal almost immediately. Erik had that “want to win for the city” passion in Ottawa, not so much in SJ.

Maybe I’m reading a little too much into it but that’s just the vibe I get from him too.
This seems like revisionist history. What has karlsson done to make you feel like he didn't want to play for San Jose. He purposely played in the all star game injured because he knew it is special for hometown fans. Played his ass off in the playoffs. Re signed with us and stated he never intended to sign elsewhere. How has he been substantially different than burns after his first year? Only one thing. He got hurt...

Yeah, he had a hard time adjusting to play with our team on the ice but that was mostly Pete Deboer's garbage system.
 

hohosaregood

Banned
Sep 1, 2011
32,273
12,439
I know exactly what you mean. I don’t know that he fully comprehends that he’s not a senator anymore. While in Ottawa he was deified. That was never going to happen here. He looks slightly bewildered that he isn’t the center of everything.
I kinda take it that he hasn't taken any ownership of the team because he doesn't want to step on anybody's toes. Like it's a team that's had a pretty established core for the last decade and he has to come in and usurp a spot in that core. Seems like an awkward position to be in.
 
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Lebanezer

I'unno? Coast Guard?
Jul 24, 2006
14,756
10,263
San Jose
I kinda take it that he hasn't taken any ownership of the team because he doesn't want to step on anybody's toes. Like it's a team that's had a pretty established core for the last decade and he has to come in and usurp a spot in that core seems like an awkward position to be in.
I agree, I think that's a huge part of it as well. The Sharks' dressing room has some huge personalities.
 
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