Insider links Erik Karlsson to Maple Leafs

Talk about swinging for the fences. 

The San Jose Sharks are looking to facilitate a trade for defenseman Erik Karlsson, who enjoyed a tremendous bounce back season last year and was rewarded with yet another Norris Trophy win as the NHL's best defenseman. The rebuilding Sharks aren't going to be competing for the Stanley Cup any time soon, and the Swedish blue liner has requested a move to a contender. 

And according to NHL Insider Pierre LeBrun, the Toronto Maple Leafs are among the teams who have "chatted"  with the Sharks about acquiring Karlsson, who has four years remaining on his current deal that carries an AAV of $11.5 million.

Karlsson recently opened up about his impending departure from the Sharks, saying that there are a lot of teams who "want" to bring him in. 

“I think there’s a lot of teams that want to do it. Not necessarily a lot of teams that can do it,” he said.

“I’m not looking to be greedy. I'm not looking to do what's best for me personally. I want it professionally to be a good situation. That's what I'm going to base my decision off, and I hope that obviously, sooner or later, we can figure out what those options are.”

Wherever Karlsson ends up, he wants to be in a position to be able to win, especially at this stage in his career on the wrong side of 30 years of age.

“I'm the best when you need to be the best. But if I don't have the chance to get to the place where you need to play the big games, then I might as well not do it. I could go through 82 games a year and be good, but I want to play when it matters,” Karlsson said.

“In the stage of my career, that's what I'm looking for. And there's no particular team [in mind]. Whenever it comes down to it, I'm gonna look at all the teams and be like: ‘I think this is the winning team.’ That's not to say we're going to win, but I think this is where I can have the most impact.”

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