Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic: Erik Karlsson is not eligible to sign for the max term of eight years with the San Jose Sharks until after the NHL trade deadline on February 25th. He can sign for seven years before then, but not eight years.
Both the Sharks and Karlsson will wait to hold talks until the new year, giving Karlsson time to feel out San Jose. If he decides San Jose isn’t for him, he’ll be the top UFA defenseman.
After Karlsson, Jake Gardiner and Tyler Myers would be next on the pending UFA defensemen list.