Erik Karlsson is perpetually unbothered, so it should come as no surprise that when he talked about entering the final year of his contract that he basically is fine with staying in the present and isn\u2019t worried about what comes next. Karlsson said yesterday that he hasn\u2019t thought about his future.<\/p>\n
When asked if he had any contract negotiations to stay in Pittsburgh, Karlsson freely said no.<\/p>\n
\u201dNo, I have not. I think that the situation is pretty given on what is is and what it\u2019s not. I have one year left. Our team is in a weird stage, I think. So we\u2019ll see how it goes this year, and all I can say is that I enjoy myself. I like being here, and you know I\u2019m looking forward to starting camp with the guys and see what we can offer for this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
He\u2019s certainly right about the \u2018weird stage\u2019 of the Penguins, who are half starting to rebuild for the future by acquiring lots of young players and future draft picks, while also trying to ride out the Sidney Crosby era with respectable teams that can at least compete to make the playoffs.<\/p>\n
Ever comfortable in his own skin, Karlsson sounds believable when he talks about staying in the moment.<\/p>\n
\u201cFeel really good, got a lot of years left in me,\u201d Karlsson said. \u201cThe future is not something that I\u2019ve really thought about. I think everybody, including myself, had a lot fun here last year, and I\u2019m hoping that we can recreate that and start building even more forward and find another gear here and we\u2019ll see what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later on in the day, assistant GM Jason Spezza addressed the Karlsson situation from the team\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n