Erik Karlsson sounds off on return to San Jose

The Erik Karlsson era officially came to a close with the San Jose Sharks this past offseason, as he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins in a blockbuster 3-team trade that saw the Penguins trade goaltender Casey DeSmith and defenseman Jeff Petry to the Habs, who sent Mike Hoffman to the Sharks. 

Tomorrow night will feature Karlsson's return to San Jose for the first time since the trade - but right now, neither team is in an ideal situation. The Penguins are last in the Metropolitan Division with a record of 3-6, while things are just plain miserable in San Jose after the Sharks have started 0-9-1; the topper was last night's humiliating 10-1 loss to the Vancouver Canucks in front of a mostly empty SAP Center. 

The reigning Norris Trophy-winning blue liner is looking forward to returning to the venue he once called home, much in the same way that he returned as a member of the opposition to his former home in Ottawa after having been acquired by the Sharks. 

“I think it’s going to be different than (returning to Ottawa) in some regards,” Karlsson said. “It’s going to be nice to be back in San Jose, to see a lot of familiar faces and meet a lot of people I haven’t seen in a while. It’s also nice that it’s early in the season, so we kind of can get it over with a little bit and move forward. I got a lot of good memories there and I’m hoping to create some more good memories in that rink.

“It’s going to be a nice little trip to have this early in the season.”

Despite their subpar record, Karlsson doesn't appear to be overly concerned.

“I think we’re not hanging heads in here,” Karlsson said. “I think that we’ve played some really good hockey. We also know that we haven’t played some of the best that we have. So I don’t think we have to change very much. I think we have to dial in a few (things), keep going and try to get accustomed to each other as much as we can.

“ … We’re going to take it game by game, try to make it one (win) in a row, and keep it one in a row moving forward like that. We gotta start somewhere and getting a win, no matter how we get it, would be nice.”

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