The San Jose Sharks have acquired two-time Norris Trophy winning defenseman Erik Karlsson from the Ottawa Senators in what can only be described as a "video game trade."
You know the type: A team inquires about a player, offers something in exchange for him and continuously adds pieces they're willing to give up until they get a "yes" in return.
That's what this feels like.
The Sharks, already stacked with two of the league's best defensemen (Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic), added an unquestionably dynamic and generational offensive talent in Karlsson.
In return, they sent players Chris Tierney, Rudolfs Balcers, Dylan DeMelo and Josh Norris to Ottawa as well as a 2019 second-round selection, a 2020 first-round selection and a conditional 2021 second-round selection if Karlsson re-signs to stay in San Jose.
According to the Senators, this was the "most important" trade in the team's rebuild:
News Release: #Sens complete most important trade in rebuild, acquire six assets in Erik Karlsson trade: https://t.co/HpSSpE0oex
Communiqué : Les Sénateurs d’Ottawa réalisent la plus importante transaction dans le cadre de leur reconstruction : https://t.co/YmgYgUI9n7
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) September 13, 2018
The Sharks also received prospect Francis Perron as a throw-in.
Karlsson, who turns 29 in May, has played 627 games in the NHL, all as a Senator, scoring 126 goals, 392 assists, averaging 25:58 of ice time and possessing a Corsi For percentage of 52.9 and an Offensive Zone Start percentage of 55.5.
Among active players, Karlsson only trails Zdeno Chara (628), new teammate Burns (566) and Duncan Keith (543) in points scored by defensemen, and Karlsson's 627 games make him an infant compared to 1,423, 961 and 995 played by Chara, Burns and Keith, respectively.
In fact, the closest active defensive player who has played 627 or fewer games is P.K. Subban with 582, and he ranks 17th with 377 points.
195 of Karlsson's points (38%) have come on the power play where he will likely pair with Burns, a power play dynamo, who has scored 62 of his 182 goals (34%) with a man advantage.
The most recently important games the Sharks and the Senators have each played have been against the Penguins when the Sharks were eliminated in the 2016 Stanley Cup final and the Senators in the conference final a season later.
Only time will tell if this move can finally get the Sharks the Cup itself, but this trade certainly makes their chances a heck of a lot more realistic in 2018-19.
