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Sharks chief executive Doug Wilson had good reason to be in his home town on Thursday. He met his new defender, Erik Karlsson.
Just a few Norris Trophy winners. pic.twitter.com/cee2zSowoM
– San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) September 13, 2018
"It's one of those transactions when you're dealing with a trader at that level, you want to be on the ground and be there in case of a problem," Mr. Ottawa said Thursday. a telephone interview. the Happy Hour.
The massive deal, which sent four players, two draft picks and conditional selections to Ottawa in exchange for Karlsson, concluded months of talks. Wilson said the Sharks first spoke to the Senators at the deadline last season, and that John Shannon of Sportsnet reported Thursday that San Jose "had an agreement in principle made" with Ottawa at the time. Senators winger Bobby Ryan said the Ottawa sun In May, he heard an agreement with Karlsson and himself in a West Conference team, but "someone stepped back at the last second".
Karlsson told reporters Thursday that he did not know how close he was to the deadline, adding that he was "watching TV like everyone else." But Wilson kept in touch with the Senators and said the teams reached an agreement because Ottawa was trying to do something quickly.
"You always want to keep your rowing in the water when it comes to changing games and making a difference, so we just kept in touch," Wilson said. "Sometimes the team that has the player will dictate the timeline, I think Ottawa has explored [a deal] at the trading deadline and were probably looking to do business before the start of the season. So, you feel that the urgency is accelerating and that for several weeks we are in conversation. "
Karlsson was moved at his last press conference in Ottawa and told reporters that he "never wanted to leave" the Canadian capital. The winner of the Norris Trophy twice kept silent about a possible extensionBut Wilson said on Happy hour that he was confident that the franchise and Karlsson would be a long-term match.
"You're going to research the player, you're researching what he's looking for, and if you have the things he's looking for, it minimizes that risk," Wilson said. "We watch Erik as we watched Evander [Kane in May], as a guy who integrates now and in the future according to age, style of play … We are trying to win now, and I think that Is something that attracts him.
"It has to be a place where the player wants to play, by incorporating all the ingredients he is looking for in his decision-making process, he told us, we are a place he would like to be." to be, and same thing [for] we return to him. We would like it to be here in the long term. "
The Sharks are expected to have just over $ 15.5 million in pay space next summer – assuming the cap does not increase – with 10 players under contract. When his contract extension begins after this season, Los Angeles Kings defenseman Drew Doughty will be the highest-paying defenseman in the league in terms of success ($ 11 million).
Nevertheless, Wilson seemed confident in the Sharks' ability to keep Karlsson out of this season.
"I do not comment on the contract negotiations, but I will say that we had long conversations with his agents, and we are extremely comfortable doing this business today, where we are sitting", said Wilson. "Now that it's our property, we can spend a lot of time with him and continue these discussions."
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