Sharks' Erik Karlsson announces birth of daughter, explaining absence

We now know the personal reason for Erik Karlsson missing the Sharks' season-opening loss to the Golden Knights on Wednesday night.

And it's a happy reason.

Karlsson announced Thursday night on social media that his wife, Melinda, had given birth to a daughter.

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To my beautiful wife for doing everything in her power to bring our beautiful little baby girl in to this world, never have I met a more determined or stronger person than you. It hasn’t been easy but after the rain finally our little rainbow arrived. Love you both more than I could ever imagine.

A post shared by Erik Karlsson (@erikkarlsson65) on Oct 3, 2019 at 6:16pm PDT

Congratulations to the Karlssons. What a special moment for their growing family.