Sharks owner: Karlsson was not a 'team-friendly player'

San Jose Sharks owner Hasso Plattner took a jab at Erik Karlsson during a rare media availability Thursday.

Plattner made the remarks while discussing the organization's decision to rebuild in 2022, which ultimately included shipping Karlsson to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023.

"(Rebuilding) was actually my wish five years ago," Plattner said, per San Jose Hockey Now's Sheng Peng. "And quote, unquote, the previous (regime) said that's not there. EK65 was probably the last real try to keep the level of the Thorntons and Pavelskis.

"First, one (star) is not enough. Second, you know his qualities and you know his deficiencies; he was not the most, how do I say it, team-friendly player. He was good, but he was probably very good in a very good team."

The Sharks acquired Karlsson in a 2018 blockbuster trade with the Ottawa Senators to push for the Stanley Cup. They went to the Western Conference Final in Karlsson's first year with the club but never made the playoffs in his four other seasons in teal.

Injuries derailed much of Karlsson's tenure in San Jose. His only fully healthy campaign with the team was in 2022-23, when he racked up 101 points and won the Norris Trophy. However, San Jose finished 29th in the league that year.

Plattner blamed poor drafting as part of the reason San Jose needed to rebuild. He also spoke about Doug Wilson's health struggles when asked about their relationship at the time of the former general manager's resignation after 19 seasons with the club.

"You know that he was not well? OK, that says it all. He was a good guy, very good hockey sense, but when you have a sickness, like he had, permanent headaches. He was living in Phoenix, and the team was here," Plattner said.

"Much more, I'm negative about his son. He was not drafting well. He was totally over his pay grade, and that was another mistake I probably made. I didn't see that. We were always relatively good at drafting. All of a sudden, we lost it."

Doug Wilson Jr. was the team's director of scouting for four seasons from 2018-19 to 2021-22. William Eklund, the No. 7 pick in 2021, is the only player drafted by Wilson Jr. who's currently an NHL regular. Wilson Jr. now works for the Seattle Kraken as an amateur scout.

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