Rangers offseason defense plans may lose Karlsson option

Updated:
Karlsson scores for Sweden (ap)

Erik Karlsson and the San Jose Sharks may not be done with each other yet. Late yesterday, reports surfaced that the two sides were close to working out an extension that would keep the All-Star wearing the Shark crest.

According to reports, GM Doug Wilson and Erik Karlsson met for dinner on Wednesday and are nearing an 8 year deal at a cap hit of $11 million per season. Those are whopping numbers for a great defenseman who has had serious injury concerns for several years now.

For Jeff Gorton and the Rangers, plan A still remains to trade for Jacob Trouba. However, the trade price is said to be extremely high and not one team seems ready to pay. It starts with a first round pick and builds from there.

The thought process was, if Trouba couldn’t be acquired they could see if Erik Karlsson would be interested in joining the Rangers. Of course, the organization wasn’t going to give max years and 11 million per season to a 28 year old with a history of injury.

What everyone needs to remember is that Jeff Gorton already started addressing the defense with the acquisition of Adam Fox. So if they miss on Trouba it still has been improved from last season. A look at the other top UFA defenseman is a list of blue liners near or over 30 that make no sense for the rebuild. Players like Tyler Myers and Alex Edler are simply not fits.

By Anthony Scultore

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

Mentioned in this article:

More About: