Sharks shutting down Erik Karlsson until after all-star break

The Hockey Night in Canada panel looks at the biggest news around the league, with the Ottawa Senators apparently offering a contract to Matt Duchene and the Maple Leafs on the hunt for another defenceman.

The San Jose Sharks are shutting down defenceman Erik Karlsson until after the all-star break, head coach Peter DeBoer told reporters on Monday.

Karlsson missed Saturday’s 6-3 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning with an undisclosed injury, and will now be out for at least two more games – Monday night against the Florida Panthers and Tuesday night against the Washington Capitals.

Following the all-star break, the Sharks don’t play again until Feb. 2 at home against the Arizona Coyotes.

After a slow start to his first season in San Jose, Karlsson has been red-hot over his last 20 games. The blue-liner has three goals and 40 assists in 47 contests so far this season.

[relatedlinks]

When submitting content, please abide by our submission guidelines, and avoid posting profanity, personal attacks or harassment. Should you violate our submissions guidelines, we reserve the right to remove your comments and block your account. Sportsnet reserves the right to close a story’s comment section at any time.