This morning, the San Jose Sharks announced that impending UFA Erik Karlsson had agreed to an eight-year, $92 million dollar contract. The deal comes with a full no-trade clause and its $11.5 million AAV makes Karlsson the highest-paid defenseman in the game, surpassing Drew Doughty’s $11 million AAV.
Karlsson and Doug Wilson took questions about the extension after the announcement. Before we get to some of the choice quotes, here are some key takeaways from their conference calls:
* Karlsson stressed multiple times how important it was that he never felt pressured, in season, to make a decision about his free agency.