LeBrun: Erik Karlsson ‘open-minded’ on trade destinations, plus latest rumblings on Meier, Barbashev, Hellebuyck, more

If more evidence was needed that the NHL’s current salary cap system makes money transfer difficult, Erik Karlsson will provide it.

The Sharks are expected to be crowned the Norris Trophy winner on June 26 in Nashville. However, there is no guarantee that the Sharks will be able to sign Karlsson this summer, even if they have every intention of doing just that.

That’s what four more years on a contract with an average annual value of $11.5 million means to you.

Surely there’s a way to move a 101-point defender about to claim his third Norris Trophy?

We’ll find out in a moment.

Sharks management recently met with Karlsson’s team, Newport Sports, at the Buffalo Combine and both sides were unanimous in their desire to make a trade for the 33-year-old Swedish wizard.

Let’s put it this way: While the Sharks listened to Karlsson — and talked to a few teams, including the Oilers — before the March 3 close this season, this is more of a proactive endeavor.

The Sharks really want to move him. And Karlsson is keen to move to a team where he has a chance of winning.

Karlsson’s full no-move clause means he has a say in where he lands, but I get the impression he’ll be quite open-minded. He really wants a chance to win before his career is over and he’s not getting that with the Sharks rebuilding.

I’ve been told that some teams have already blown tires in the last week so the process has started but I’ve been told it’s still at a very early stage.

Two key problems remain:

• The vast majority of competitors stick too tightly to the cap.

• How much money are the Sharks willing to shell out for Karlsson’s contract? Or what kind of contracts would they rescind to make it work?

I spoke to sources at some front offices who felt that Karlsson needed to become a player in the $8 million to $8.5 million range for things to work out. But I suspect Sharks general manager Mike Grier would want to keep at most $2 million a year, at least initially, which would make Karlsson a $9.5 million player.

So where is the leeway? Can the Sharks do it? Can the heavyweight help Newport pull it off? Newport has helped with many transactions over the years, including helping agent Craig Oster bring Matthew Tkachuk to Florida last summer.

But that’s quite a scenario given the caps – and of course the concern that Karlsson, at 33, could falter over the next four years.

Still, the absolute magic we saw last season has to draw someone in. To the right? We will know shortly. What we know now is that we have two motivated parties – the player camp and the organization. Now all you need is a third motivated party.

Other rumors in the league:

• Now that the Devils have signed Jesper Bratt to an eight-year, $63 million deal, focus shifts to pending free agent Timo Meier. There have already been some talks between the sides. The Devils have decided to start arbitration against Meier, but that is considered procedural only at this time. New Jersey’s clear intention is to also sign Meier on an eight-year contract; There is no interest in signing a one-year deal that would bridge him to full free agency next summer. And just as importantly, Meier’s camp, led by agent Claude Lemieux, is also on board to try and secure a long-term deal. You never know how these negotiations will turn out, but from the start there was a common feeling of wanting to sign an eight-year deal.

Meanwhile, the Bratt deal process was anything but smooth. I’ve been told from last summer, when both sides were still far apart and putting the ball on the line for a year on a one-year contract, that it was an absolute grind to negotiate. For almost a year and up until two weeks ago, Bratt’s camp was still trying to make more than $8 million from an eight-year contract. The Devils stuck to their desire to put Bratt under Jack Hughes’ $8 million AAV, and they did it. These things are always difficult to predict in eight years, but it turned out to be what appeared to be a fair deal for both sides.

Meanwhile, the Devils are getting a slew of calls about upcoming RFA forward Yegor Sharangovich, 25, whose arbitration proceedings could land him in a spot that doesn’t make sense in the New Jersey cap puzzle. That will also depend on a few other things the Devils are keeping an eye on. So it’s possible that they’re relocating him. They also handle the trade market for upcoming RFA goaltender MacKenzie Blackwood.

• To be clear, the Hurricanes would rather lengthen and keep Brett Pesce than trade him. And as of Friday morning, they continue to be in talks with Pesce’s camp to expand their place in the top four blueliners. Pesce recently switched agents, now with Wasserman’s Judd Moldaver, and traditionally when a player gets a new agent, they’re likely to be promised certain things. I think that started the conversations with Carolina. Things didn’t start on the best of terms. But they’re still talking and I don’t think Pesce wants to leave Carolina, so there’s always hope. Meanwhile, teams are actually calling. As I mentioned Thursday on TSN’s Insider Trading, the Sabers have shown a lot of interest as they hope to earn a top four D spot this offseason. TSN colleague Darren Dreger of Insider Trading intervened to say the Oilers had their eye on Pesce as well. The situation is clear: either the Hurricanes extend Pesce or swap it this summer. They are uncomfortable letting him start the 2023/24 season with an expiring contract. You are protecting the asset here.

• After his spectacular playoffs for Stanley Cup winners Golden Knights, there might be no hotter name in the upcoming UFA market than Ivan Barbashev. Like most contenders, the Knights have almost no leeway for captains, so it will be difficult to keep Barbashev, although after seeing how GM Kelly McCrimmon has navigated the captaincy’s waters wisely in recent years, I give the Knights a try definitely not trust would find a way.

“Look, he really enjoyed his time in Vegas,” said Barbashev’s agent Dan Milstein the athlete on Friday morning. “I’m sure we’ll talk to them (the knights) here at some point. He would like to stay but I don’t know if they can afford the market.”

What is this market price? Milstein wouldn’t say, but I suspect the agent will be looking to get between $5.5 million and $5.75 million a season on a multi-year deal for his 27-year-old client.

• The Lightning are unlikely to go down without a fight in an attempt to retain long-time, veteran winger Alex Killorn, but all signs point to the 33-year-old being in line for UFA marketing – where, incidentally, he is tied on most goals ( 27) this season of the entire UFA class. Term will be a key point in discussions with teams from July 1st. Killorn’s camp is aimed at three to four years.

The Lightning are attempting to shift the Cap area – an annual summer exercise for them. The name that keeps coming up is Ross Colton, an RFA whose pay arbitration process is likely too high for the Bolts. It sounds like the Lightning are ready to move it.

Meanwhile, Tampa Bay must re-sign pending RFA Tanner Jeannot, who also has pay arbitration rights. While I think the Jeannot camp would like to sign a long-term deal now, the team’s situation this summer will likely mean it’s a one- or two-year bridging deal. But I don’t think there will be arbitration. You’ll find out without that.

• All indications are that defender Noah Hanifin is unwilling to renew his contract with the Flames, meaning the situation is likely to be headed towards a swap. He has one year left on his contract with an AAV of $4.95 million. Obviously, the Flames’ new GM Craig Conroy is juggling a lot with Elias Lindholm, Mikael Backlund and Tyler Toffoli among other players entering the final year of their contracts, and the Flames need answers. Like Winnipeg, Calgary is currently an action team and can impact the league in many ways. The question is whether Conroy can convince enough of these people to extend and stay on board. His upbeat and positive demeanor is his greatest asset as a first-time GM.

“He’s the Ted Lasso of the NHL GMs,” an agent said of Conroy’s personable personality.

• Never say never, but while people link big names like Connor Hellebuyck to Los Angeles because they need a goal, it seems more likely that the Kings will opt for a cheaper replacement for Pheonix Copley because of the need to sign close to the ceiling are Vladislav Gavrikov to an extension. And they also need to re-sign RFA Gabe Vilardi. From July 1st there is a long list of cheaper UFA goalkeepers on the market. To me it feels like a goalie market for buyers. One guy I’m wondering about: If Vegas re-signs Adin Hill, would upcoming UFA player Laurent Brossoit fit in with the Kings?

• One thing to keep in mind about Hellebuyck, whose contract has one year left and an AAV of US$6.1m, the teams that tussle with him know the Andrei Vasilevskiy-esque goalkeeper’s camp Seeking money ($9.5 million AAV) for an extension. And I mean, I don’t blame Hellebuyck’s camp for wanting that, given how consistently great he’s been over the last few years and being nominated again for the Vezina this season. But as a team manager told me on Friday after watching Hill win the cup last week, how much sense does it make to reserve that much space on a goalkeeper’s cap these days? TRUE. But I also have the feeling that you know what you are getting in Hellebuyck.

(Top photo by Erik Karlsson: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)