Erik Karlsson vows to follow weird superstition at Mark Stone's cup party

San Jose Sharks' star defenseman Erik Karlsson is poised to claim his third Norris Trophy at the 2023 NHL Awards on Monday.

The 33-year-old blue-liner wrapped up the regular season with a remarkable offensive performance, tallying 101 points—the most productive season by a defenseman in 31 years. Additionally, Karlsson is a finalist for the Ted Lindsay Award.

Erik Karlsson is going to attend his former teammate Mark Stone's Stanley Cup party later this summer and when asked about attending the party, the 33-year-old defenseman jokingly said that he's going to be part of the party but he won't touch the cup.

"I'm gonna go to Stoney's cup party and not touch the cup... Like F&@k!"

The veteran defenseman's statement demonstrated how badly he wants to win the Stanley Cup. Mark Stone, Karlsson's former Ottawa Senators teammate, recently won the coveted Stanley Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights after defeating Florida Panthers in the finals.

Although Erik Karlsson had an outstanding season with the San Jose Sharks, delivering a stellar defensive performance, the team struggled throughout the campaign and failed to secure a playoff berth.

Since signing a $92,000,000 million contract with the San Jose Sharks in 2019, the team has missed the playoffs four times, and Karlsson has expressed his desire to be traded before the next season and look for clubs that can provide him with the opportunity to lift the Stanley Cup.

"I've played with too many guys throughout my career that are amazing players and should be winners and should have won that never did," Karlsson said at the 2023 NHL Awards media day at Bridgestone Arena on Sunday. "I don't want to be that guy. I want to win. That's not to say that I'm going to win. I want an opportunity to win. If that opportunity is not in San Jose right now within my timeline, then that's just the unfortunate part of business."

A look into the NHL career of Erik Karlsson

Dallas Stars v San Jose Sharks

Erik Karlsson was the 15th overall pick for the Ottawa Senators in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He made his league debut during the 2009-10 campaign and ended his debut with accumulating 26 points (5 goals and 21 assists) in 60 games.

After playing nine seasons with the Senators, Karlson was traded to the San Jose Sharks during the 2018-19 season and has been with them ever since. He's played 920 games and has racked up 761 points (178 goals and 583 assists). Karlsson is a two-time James Norris Trophy winner in his NHL career.