"I think it would be weird if he comes to me with three days left and asked me to waive my no-move," Karlsson said Monday. "We've had plenty of time for that, if that was the case, so I'm not too worried about it. I'm just here to play hockey and enjoy my time."
Karlsson's comment is in line with what Grier said Sunday after the Sharks traded forward Timo Meier to the New Jersey Devils.
RELATED: [Meier traded to Devils by Sharks]
Grier did not rule out the possibility of Karlsson being moved before the deadline, but he didn't make it sound like the Sharks have anything cooking for the 32-year-old, two-time Norris Trophy winner (2012 and 2015 with the Ottawa Senators) who leads all defensemen with 77 points (19 goals, 58 assists) in 60 games this season.
"I mean, there's teams that still always want to check in," Grier said. "When you've got a great player like that who can make a difference and maybe win you the Stanley Cup, I think there's always a little bit of interest. But at the same time, I think with five days to go before the deadline to make everything work, it might be something that's difficult to pull off. At the end of the day if someone wants him bad enough, as they say, where there's a will there's a way. I don't know for sure, but at this time I'm anticipating him being here for the rest of the season."
Karlsson's contract, the fact he's signed for four more seasons, makes it harder to trade him before the deadline because of the salary cap implications involved. The Sharks could have more interested suitors in the offseason, when teams are resetting their rosters and cap.
"Where you can kind of get your ducks in a row and all that, and figure out how to make the money work, it's probably easier in the offseason," Grier said. "But at the same time, like I've been saying from the beginning, I've enjoyed being around Erik, watching Erik, so he'll have a say in this and what he wants to do moving forward. Just looking forward to watching him and have him have a strong end of the season, have him keep doing what he's doing out there."
Karlsson said he has not been stressed about the looming deadline, wondering if Grier will approach him and ask him to approve a trade.
"We enjoy it here," Karlsson said. "I've had a lot of fun this year and I'm going to continue to have that. The other things that you can't control, you can't do much about it."
The Sharks (18-30-12) are seventh in the Pacific Division and on pace to miss the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth straight season.
"Yeah, it does [stink] that we're in the situation that we're in and we're not fighting for a playoff spot," Karlsson said. "We know that it's going to be another year where you go home early. That's the tough part of the business. It is what it is. Just staying in the now and trying to enjoy each day. I've been doing a good job of that so far and I expect to keep that up for the rest of the season."
The Sharks could continue to trade players from their active roster for future assets. They have forward Nick Bonino and goalie James Reimer as their top pending unrestricted free agents. Forward Andreas Johnsson, acquired from New Jersey in the Meier trade, is also a potential UFA.
"There's nothing imminent right now, but things happen fast this time of the year," Grier said. "There's nothing really on the burner at the moment but teams are kind of prepping themselves up and it'll pick up pretty quickly here, I would imagine, over the next few days."
