"From what I know, without putting a hard timeline on it, I think it could be as long as 10 or 12 weeks, as short as eight, somewhere in that area," Sharks coach Bob Boughner said Wednesday. "We're hoping with the [NHL All-Star] break coming up here in February it was the right time to do it and, hopefully, we see him back at the end of March, or the middle to the end of March. I would think that's the aggressive plan. Erik's beat timelines before with other surgeries. He's a quick healer, so we're hoping we get him back sometime in March."
The 2022 Honda NHL All-Star Weekend is Feb. 4-5 in Las Vegas. San Jose does not have a game scheduled from Feb. 2-13.
Karlsson did not play in a 7-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Jan. 22 and was considered day to day with an upper-body injury. Boughner said it wasn't the same injury that caused him to miss two games this month.
"It was a type of thing where, do we sit here and try to have him as a day-to-day guy, which can't really practice and he can only play and even when he's playing he's only playing at 60-70 percent? Or do you get it fixed and get it right and get him back healthy?" Boughner said. "So it was a big decision. Erik wanted to be there for the team, but at the end of the day, it was a tough decision for him. So I think he's down a little bit."
Sharks captain Logan Couture said it's best Karlsson had the surgery when he did.
"Obviously, he's disappointed that this happened," Couture said. "It's tough, though. He tried to play through it for a while and didn't want to let us down. Obviously, it's not the outcome that he or we wanted that he's going to miss an extended period of time, but we appreciate him trying to play through it and, ultimately, he had to do what was best for his body with an injury like that."
Karlsson has scored 26 points (eight goals, 18 assists) in 33 games this season and 133 points (25 goals, 108 assists) in 194 games for San Jose since being acquired in a trade with the Ottawa Senators on Sept. 13, 2018.
"That's a tough injury, obviously, for us, a key part of our lineup that's going to be missing for quite a while," Boughner said. "The thing that Erik does running the power play and possession game and our exits and breakouts and things like that. We'll miss that. I believe he's probably 13th or 14th (tied for 15th) in the League in defense scoring. I think he's a big part of our offense as well. So it's a hole. We've got to fill it. It's an opportunity for other guys to step up, but as a team we've got to come together."
Karlsson was limited to 53 games in 2018-19 because of a groin injury that required surgery after the season. He also missed San Jose's final 13 games in 2019-20 after breaking his thumb Feb. 14, another injury that required surgery.
The Sharks (22-19-2) are tied with the Calgary Flames for fourth in the eight-team Pacific Division.
