Trade offer made to Erik Karlsson!

The Edmonton Oilers interest in San Jose Sharks’ Erik Karlsson has been reported all over in the past weeks, especially after players confronted general manager Ken Holland in order to get a puck-moving defenseman ahead of the March 3rd deadline.

It sounds like Holland might have listened to his players, since Jason Gregor of TSN 1260 now reveals on Twitter how the Oilers made an offer to the Sharks in order to acquire Karlsson on Tuesday.

There is no word on what the Oilers might have offered in order to get their hands the 32-year-old blue liner who carries an $11.5-million dollar cap hit through 2026-27.

We get why the Oilers, and many other teams, have interested in Karlsson. The defenseman is sixth in league scoring (18 goals and 55 assists in 55 games) and comfortably first across all defensemen in the league.

Edmonton also needs help when it comes to leadership and with 14 NHL seasons under his belt, including six playoff trips, Karlsson would be a great addition to the Oilers’ dressing room.

But you know one of the biggest issues in Edmonton is the cap space available ahead of the trade deadline. Per Cap Friendly, the Oilers roughly $1.97 million in long-term injured reserve space , and that’s before Kailer Yamamoto ($3.1 million cap hit) returns to the active roster.

It feels like the Oilers would need the Sharks to retain 50 percent of Karlsson’s remaining contract in a transaction, but there are reports that San Jose GM Mike Grier has only been willing to go 18-20 percent. At 50 percent retained, Karlsson’s cap hit would fall to $5.75 million, a figure that remains hard for Edmonton to absorb… The Oilers would need to trade one of its current blue liners to create space, which could include Tyson Barrie, Bray Kulak or Cody Ceci in a package deal.

If an offer was indeed presented on Tuesday, how close are we to a blockbuster Karlsson trade?

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