The San Jose Sharks have announced that defenceman Erik Karlsson will undergo forearm surgery, and will be evaluated in mid-March.
#SJSharks defenseman @ErikKarlsson65 underwent successful surgery on his left forearm at Kaiser Permanente on Monday.
He is expected to be re-evaluated in mid-March.https://t.co/msyUWzMIaT
— San Jose Sharks (@SanJoseSharks) January 25, 2022
Erik Karlsson Surgery Sidelines Him Until Mid-March
The Sharks defenceman, 31, has 26 points in 31 games so far this year and hasn’t played more than 60 games since 2017-2018. He has struggled with a lot of injuries in the past. He had major surgery in 2013 to repair a torn Achilles, sitting out 29 games during the 2018-2019 season due to a severe groin injury. In addition, he sat out a lot of the 2021 season due to another groin injury.
The Sharks are not having the greatest year, sitting at 21-19-2 in the regular season. They are in front of the Edmonton Oilers, Vancouver Canucks, and Seattle Kraken in the standings.
What This Means For The Future
To start things off, this is Karlsson’s 3rd major injury in 3 years, which shows that we may be in the last few years of his career. For the Sharks, it’s a significant blow considering that they are paying him $11.5 million until 2027, and he’s missing significant time almost every year. It will give them some salary-cap room if they place him on the LTIR. However, the problem is that they aren’t trying to compete. Rather, they are halfway through a multi-year-long rebuild, and their younger players could use the experience from someone like Karlsson. If he’s constantly hurt then the rookies cannot gain the experience from him.
It also hinders a chance at winning a Stanley Cup, considering his constant major injuries and the overall recent performance of the sharks may leave him without a cup by the time he calls it quits, leaving the 2017 eastern conference finals while with Ottawa the closest he may ever get.
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