3 Trades That Could Land the Toronto Maple Leafs Erik Karlsson
By Jeff Borsuk
The Toronto Maple Leafs and Erik Karlsson – Trade 1
According to Cap Friendly, Karlsson is earning big money in San Jose.
His current annual average salary (AAV) is $11.5M. His contract runs until the completion of the 2026-27 season, when he will be 37 years old.
This is important information, considering that the Toronto Maple Leafs have currently exceeded the salary cap.
They are already over the cap by close to $9M ($8,831,450). When including Jake Muzzin’s LTIR savings, it reduces the Leafs excess being $3,206,450 over the cap.
In short, for Toronto to take on Karlsson’s salary, they will also need to shed salary on their end. This points to a deal involving a highly paid player. (*Everyone slowly turns to look at Nylander.)
With Nylander having not yet signed an extension with the Leafs, he becomes the most obvious person to move. He will be the centerpiece of the package sent to the Sharks.
This is the full trade:
Toronto Maple Leafs receive: Erik Karlsson
San Jose Sharks receive: William Nylander, Matt Murray, forward prospect Ryan Tverberg, defense prospect Mikko Kokkonen, a 2024 conditional first round draft pick (top 10 protected), and a 2026 third round draft pick.
The Maple Leafs in this deal would dump Murray, which is an additional win for them because they get out from his $4.6875M cap hit. It’s also why the Leafs would need to sweeten this deal with a first round pick and a pair of prospects.
If there was more certainty and term on Nylander’s contract, the Sharks could be swayed to take less in the agreement. However, the way it stands now, San Jose isn’t going to move Karlsson for Nylander alone.