Former Swedish National Coach Slams Erik Karlsson

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson was one of the initial six players named to Sweden’s team for the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament in February, but he has at least one prominent detractor.

Johan Garpenlov, the former Swedish national team coach and a former NHL player, said on a sports radio show where he appears regularly as an expert that Karlsson should not be on the team because of his defensive deficiencies.

“The flares in his defensive play are too big in a short tournament like this one. Every match will be so significant. Then you cannot afford to make these major mistakes that Erik Karlsson unfortunately makes nowadays,” Garpenlov said on Radiosporten, as reported by SportsExpressen and translated by Google.

Sam Hallam will coach Sweden in the tournament.

Karlsson, 34, a former Norris Trophy winner, had two goals and 10 points in 17 games going into the Penguins’ game Wednesday against the Detroit Red Wings. He was a minus-7 and has been noted for several defensive gaffes.

Former Swedish national team coach Johan Garpenlov doesn’t think Erik Karlsson should be on the Four Nations team 😬 pic.twitter.com/kS0WwFqgQE

— Spittin’ Chiclets (@spittinchiclets) November 14, 2024