KANATA, Ontario – The Sharks and Senators will always be linked due to the 2018 blockbuster trade that brought Erik Karlsson to San Jose and sent a boatload of draft picks and prospects to the Senators.
While Karlsson is making his third trip back to the Canadian Tire Centre, some of the players and picks the Sharks traded to Ottawa three-plus years ago are now going to be facing San Jose for the first time.
Josh Norris, the Sharks’ first-round pick in 2017, is centering the Senators’ top line with Brady Tkachuk and Drake Batherson, and Tim Stützle is the left wing on Ottawa’s third line with center Chris Tierney, another player in the trade, and Alex Formenton.
Stützle was the conditional 2020 first-round draft pick the Senators received when the Sharks made the 2019 playoffs. He was selected third overall by Ottawa after San Jose finished the pandemic-shortened 2019-2020 season with the third-worst record in the NHL.
“I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was a little more excited and jacked up to play,” Norris said Wednesday. “It happened a long time ago, so it’s in the past and I haven’t thought about it too much, but there’s definitely a little bit more juice to have a good game, be myself, and go out to have fun.”
Sharks coach Bob Boughner was entering his second season as the Florida Panthers’ head coach when the trade occurred, and like many others around the league, felt the Sharks were going all-in for a run at the organization’s first Stanley Cup.
The Sharks, of course, lost in the Western Conference final to the St. Louis Blues with Karlsson, Tomas Hertl, and Joe Pavelski all injured and unable to play in what would become the decisive Game 6 loss.
“San Jose made that trade and were going for a Stanley Cup,” Boughner said. “Obviously (Karlsson) got hurt and that Stanley Cup run didn’t pan out for them, But they went deep and I thought it was a smart move at the time.
“You got a chance to put one of the best defensemen in your lineup and there’s a cost of doing business and I think both teams ended up being on the good side of it. Karly’s back to playing, for me, anyway, high-end hockey. We ended up getting (Rudolfs Balcers) back on waivers, so I think it worked out for both teams. We know what Ottawa did with their picks and they turned into good players as well.”
Norris, who made his NHL debut late in the 2019-20 season, had 17 goals and 35 points in 56 games last season for the Senators, who finished eighth and last in the North Division but were playing much better as a team over the final few weeks.
Stützle, a rookie last season, has 30 points in his first 56 NHL games and Tierney, who had 104 points in 284 regular-season games in San Jose from 2014 to 2018, now has 107 points in 210 career games with the Senators.
Defenseman Dylan DeMelo also went from San Jose to Ottawa but was traded to Winnipeg in Feb. 2020. The Senators also got the Sharks’ second-round pick this year, which was used to draft forward Zack Ostapchuk.
Karlsson, who signed an eight-year, $92 million contract extension with the Sharks in June 2019, has 111 points in 162 career games with San Jose, including four points in two games this season. The Sharks missed the playoffs the last two seasons.
“They really went for it and it didn’t work out for them,” Norris said. “It happens sometimes, but I’m really happy here and we’ve got a really good thing going. I’m just excited for this year and seeing what we can do. The future is really bright.”
Boughner said Norris and Stützle are “high-end guys that are going to have long careers in this league. They’re in a good situation — a young team, they play a lot, they get to step right in. (Norris) had a heck of a season last year and Stützle looks like he’s ready to do the same this year.
“That’s how business is done. We have Karly locked up for a long time and can be a good player for us for a long time, and hopefully, we can make a run and do something this year.”