Erik Karlsson is not hiding his desire to play for a Stanley Cup contender. The San Jose Sharks are far from one, thus Karlsson's hopes of finding his way out of his current situation to a place where he will have a much better shot at lifting and kissing the greatest trophy in sports.

A player of Erik Karlsson's caliber is always going to command strong attention, but Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic has also noted two major items that are apparently keeping interested parties from revving up their pursuit of the defenseman — at least for now.

“There are two key factors at play here: How much money is San Jose willing to retain on Karlsson’s $11.5 million AAV over the next four seasons, and what is the return for the Sharks? Because again, Sharks GM Mike Grier is adamant he’s not giving away Karlsson for nothing, despite the recent trades of players like Taylor Hall, Ryan Johansen and Kevin Hayes when that was indeed the case.”

Erik Karlsson is under contract until the ned of the 2026-27 NHL season and carries cap hit of $11.5 million. He would be 36 in the final year of his current deal.

The Toronto Maple Leafs are among the teams rumored to be taking a look at Karlsson, but nothing serious on that front has yet to transpire.

Karlsson is coming off another sensational season, albeit with the subpar San Jose team. He led the Sharks in the 2022-23 NHL regular season with 101 points, consisting of 25 goals and 76 assists.