New York Rangers: Should Erik Karlsson’s health be a concern?

Karlsson the great

Would the New York Rangers be among them? They have had interest before and they would at least explore the possibility of adding a player that would become the face of the franchise and act as a key piece in this rebuild for the foreseeable.

Slam the breaks on for one second, though. There is one burning question hovering over the elite defenseman that needs to be explored and evaluated properly.

And that question revolves around Karlsson’s health, which should now be a legitimate concern for any team considering breaking open the piggy bank and splashing their life savings on a player who has already racked up plenty of milage in his distinguished career.

Now, before we delve into the injury concerns, let’s make it abundantly clear that Karlsson is a bona fide NHL superstar, a master of his craft and the Blueshirts should absolutely explore every avenue possible when it comes to putting a potential offer on the table.

After all, it isn’t every day that a blueliner of Karlsson’s stature and ability comes available on the open market.

His track record speaks for itself. He is a two-time Norris Trophy winner, a six-time NHL All-Star, a four time selection for the NHL First All-Star Team and not to mention a vast collection of other individual accolades and awards.

Not only is the eye test impressive, you can make an argument already that Karlsson will go down as one of the greatest and most elegant defensemen to have played this great game of ours, but the stats make for insane reading too.

The right-shot has quite the resume with 129 goals and 434 assists for 563 points in 680 career NHL regular season games. He has also accumulated 53 points in 67 postseason contests, including 16 points (two goals, 14 assists) for the Sharks this year and also noteworthy is his 215 NHL career power play points.

Put simply, when he is playing at the peak of his powers he is the elite of the elite, the creme de la creme and simply untouchable.

He will earn a gargantuan pay day if he does indeed hit free agency – expect any contract to be in the Drew Doughty region of $11 million a year – and Karlsson would be worth every single dollar given his body of work, impact on the game and what he can still produce when firing on all cylinders.

On the subject of finances, it is worth pondering whether or not Karlsson’s recent history of breaking down with injury will drive his price down.

He missed significant time this year and was clearly hampered during the playoffs, making any decision to sign him a clear risk.

But could that work in the Rangers favor? With the salary cap forcing all 31 teams to manage their budgets prudently, throwing wads of cash in the direction of a player who isn’t guaranteed to stay on the ice wouldn’t exactly be a wise decision for general managers.

So, as a result, Karlsson may well be forced to consider taking less money and maybe even shortening the terms of any potential deal due to teams being scared off by his medical history.

It will be an interesting situation to watch play out and one that could now tempt the Rangers into aggressively pursuing Karlsson in the hopes of getting themselves a bargain.