from Michael Traikos of the National Post,

When the Sharks traded for Karlsson in September and gave up practically nothing off their roster in return, the fantasy experts started drooling. If you thought Karlsson had been dangerous in Ottawa, where the top scorer managed just 23 goals last season, just wait until he was passing the puck up to Joe Thornton and Joe Pavelski — or Logan Couture and Evander Kane, or Tomas Hertl and Timo Meier....

Forget 82 points. The thinking was Karlsson, who is also in the final year of his contract, might be the first defenceman since Brian Leetch to crack the 100-point mark....

Heading into Thursday night’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, Karlsson had no goals and eight assists (had 2 assists last night) in his first 19 games. At this point last year, he had 17 points....

In nine seasons with the Senators, Karlsson led the team in scoring four times and finished second in three others. There was a reason for that. If he didn’t, no one else would.

In San Jose, his job description has changed. On a team that has so many offensive options, Karlsson is no longer the No. 1 offensive weapon. With Brent Burns leading the Sharks with 21 points, he might not even be the team’s No. 1 offensive defenceman.

more