Former Swedish Olympic coach doesn’t think Erik Karlsson should be on 4 Nations Face-Off team

Long-time national team coach Johan Garpenlöv doesn’t think Erik Karlsson is good enough right now to be part of Sweden’s 4 Nations Face-Off team this coming February.

Karlsson was one of the first six players named to the initial roster back in June, joining fellow defenders Victor Hedman and Gustav Forsling. However, Garpenlöv – who played 10 seasons in the NHL with Detroit, San Jose, Florida and Atlanta – believes Karlsson’s defensive shortcomings could be an issue for the Swedes.

“Every match is so important and then you can’t afford to make these big mistakes like Erik Karlsson unfortunately does,” Garpenlöv to Radiosporten (translation via Google Translate).

Garpenlöv was an assistant coach with Sweden when Karlsson last represented the country in a best-on-best competition in 2016. Since then, he won gold at the 2017 and 2018 World Championship as an assistant coach and served as the main bench boss for the 2022 Olympics. He has not actively coached since getting let go by Djurgardens in the second-tier Swedish league back in 2023.

Karlsson has struggled mightily in his two years with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defenseman in 2022-23, putting up 25 goals and 101 points with the San Jose Sharks. It marked the best season of Karlsson’s career, and it came at a time when the Sharks were looking to offload some assets to rebuild for the future.

Karlsson, however, saw his production fall to 56 points in 2023-24 – a massive drop of 45 points. Karlsson has 10 points in 17 games with Pittsburgh this season, putting him on pace for under 50. But defensively, Karlsson has received some big criticism throughout his career. He is known for taking big risks with the puck, but struggling to get back and be in the right position.

Still, Sweden has valued his presence internationally, and he did look good as captain at the most recent World Championship when he put up 11 points in 10 games.

The 2025 4 Nations Face-Off will commence in Montreal on Feb. 12, and will finish in Boston on Feb. 20. The NHL is set to release all four rosters on Dec. 4.