Erik Karlsson feels the Sharks have a bright future, but will he be a part of it?

NHL: Erik Karlsson is going into the fifth year of a $92 million contract he signed in June 2019.

SAN JOSE – Erik Karlsson sees brighter days ahead for the San Jose Sharks organization but did not want to speculate about whether he’ll be with the team at the start of next season.

Karlsson just completed the greatest individual season for a defenseman in Sharks history with 101 points, but the team finished in seventh place in the Pacific Division and 29th place in the NHL’s overall standings with a 22-44-16 record.

But Karlsson wants to win, and the Sharks, who finished with just 60 points — their fewest in a full season since 1995-96 when they had 47 — appear to be years away from being a legitimate playoff or Stanley Cup contending team.

“I think I’ve been pretty open about that since all this started that I do want to win,” Karlsson said Saturday as Sharks players held their final media availability of the season. “I do feel like I still have it in me to help a team achieve that and at the same time, I do enjoy it here. I like it here. I always have and we’ll see where it all ends up.”

The Sharks have undergone significant changes in the first year of Grier’s stewardship, which has included trading all-stars Brent Burns and Timo Meier.

More upheaval could be on the way as the Sharks try to integrate some younger players into a lineup that already has a handful of veterans on long-term contracts. Eight players who spent at least one game with the Sharks this season are pending unrestricted free agents, and another eight are slated to be restricted free agents.

The decision on how to proceed with Karlsson, though, promises to be the biggest of Grier’s offseason. While moving the two-time Norris Trophy winner could bring in a trove of assets to the organization, it would also leave a huge gulf for Grier to try and fill.

Karlsson, 32, the presumptive front-runner for the Norris Trophy, played in all 82 games and finished with 74 even strength points, fourth most in the NHL among all skaters.

Karlsson also scored or assisted on 43.35 percent of the Sharks’ 233 goals this season, the highest by a defenseman in the league’s modern era (since 1943). Bobby Orr had points on 43.32 percent (120 of 277) of Boston’s goals in the 1969-70 NHL season.

“You can’t replace Erik Karlsson. He’s one of a kind in my opinion,” Sharks captain Logan Couture said. “He does things that very few can do from the back end. He’s up there with Connor (McDavid) and guys like that who can change the game. It would be tough.”

“Wayne Gretzky got traded, anybody can get traded,” Sharks coach David Quinn said when asked about Karlsson. “From a coaching standpoint, he’s everything you want in a player. He was incredible in the locker room, he was great to coach and I hope he goes nowhere.”

Karlsson could easily have questions about the direction the Sharks are going in after they traded Meier, who finished the season with a career-high 40 goals in 78 games.

While the Sharks received a package of NHL players, prospects, and draft picks in return for Meier, the full impact of the assets San Jose received in the trade won’t be felt for years to come.

After Meier’s last game with the team on Feb. 18, the Sharks went 5-15-5 to finish the season — a .300 points percentage that was the worst in the NHL.

“It was tough losing Timo. I think that that hurt,” Karlsson said. “But at the same time, I think tells us a little bit too on where we’re at — at least that’s the way I see it as a player as you look at it.

“Like I said, I don’t really know too much about all the other stuff, the management stuff, that’s never really been on my mind throughout my career. I’m just enjoying being a player and as of right now, I’m going to worry about taking some time off and enjoying myself and being ready to get back to work sometime in May and focus on the things that I can control.”

Karlsson is going into the fifth year of an eight-year, $92 million deal he signed with the Sharks in June 2019. His contract carries a full no-movement clause in which he has full veto power over any potential trade, and any deal would certainly have its complexities.

To complete a trade, the Sharks would probably need to retain some of Karlsson’s $11.5 million cap hit, but not so much that it hamstrings their ability to add to the roster.

There’s also the matter of how many teams have the cap space necessary to fit Karlsson onto their roster, considering the salary cap is only expected to rise $1 million to $83.5 million next season.

“Karl’s a big part of this team,” Sharks defenseman Mario Ferraro said. “You can’t really put it into words. I think we all know the impact, the loss that we’re going to have if he’s not here.”

Karlsson has 243 points in 293 career regular-season games with the Sharks. This season, he averaged 25:37 in ice time per game, most in any season since 2017-18, his last year with the Ottawa Senators.

“There are going to be a lot of talks and speculations, but I remain the same,” Karlsson said.

“I don’t really know what the future holds. I can’t predict that. I’m trying to take care of the present and I think I did a good job of doing that this year, staying in that (mindset), and that’s how I’m going to handle the next little bit as well.”

By finishing in 29th place, the Sharks have a 9.5 percent chance of winning next month’s NHL Draft Lottery and selecting center Connor Bedard, thought to be one of the best draft-eligible players in years.

Regardless of where the Sharks draft in the first round, they’re bound to add a quality prospect.

“Things here are going in the right direction and the future is going to be really good here. When that is, we can’t predict that, unfortunately,” Karlsson said. “Those are things that I don’t really control and can’t do very much about right now.”

Karlsson said the Sharks do need to have a greater push from underneath.

“I do think the prospect pool needs to get a little bit deeper,” Karlsson said. “You need to have more guys coming from underneath that make a little bit of a bigger impact from the beginning. Maybe that’s one of the things that they’re working on pretty hard.

“The guys that did come in and play some games this year, I think came in at the right time. You could tell that we have some guys that are going to be on this roster next year. That was not this year. So it’s nice to see that they’re emphasizing that a little bit more and finding guys that can play pretty much right away.”