End Of An Era: Erik Karlsson Chops Off His Lethal Head Of Lettuce
Kavin Mistry. Getty Images.Erik Karlsson is about as synonymous with "luscious lettuce" as Glenny Balls is to "hold the lettuce". No offense, Glenny, but that lede was too good to pass up.
Either way, seeing Erik Karlsson wheel his way down the ice without a cascading flow of brunette locks trailing behind him is one of the rarest sights in the game. The only time I can remember him chopping off the lettuce was at the start of the 2015-16 season. You might think that was just a couple short years ago but that was Connor McDavid's first season in the NHL. He's now heading into his 7th season. Feel old yet? Christ.
You figure there are so many stars in the league today who have never been in an NHL without Erik Karlsson having some of the silkiest salad known to man. Auston Matthews, Mitch Marner, Zach Werenski, Brock Boeser, Brady Tkachuk, the list goes on. All these guys have ever known for the entirety of their NHL careers has been this.
Dave Reginek. Getty Images.But maybe this is exactly what the San Jose Sharks need. The past couple of seasons have been pretty dog shit for them after losing to the Blues in the conference finals in 2018-19. They've finished last and 2nd to last in their division the past two years. The whole Evander Kane situation has been dragging them down and it's obvious that nobody in that locker room can stand playing with him. They've lost Jumbo and Marleau. And Erik Karlsson only put up 22 points last season.
Maybe they need a little change in the mojo to get them going. Maybe with each death comes new life. Maybe Erik Karlsson's flow was a sacrifice to the hockey gods. There's like a 90% chance they're still going to suck this year, but it's worth a shot.