SHARKS TAKE BIG BITE OUT OF THE SENATORS’ ROSTER
Emotional Karlsson shipped from Ottawa to San Jose for a slew of players and picks
The captain’s ship has sailed from the nation’s capital.
As the Ottawa Senators officially opened training camp Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre, two-time Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson showed up to pack his bags. Months of speculation finally ended when he was shown the way to San Jose in a massive deal with the Sharks that could bring the club as many as eight assets.
While talks to deal Karlsson started before February’s trade deadline and heated up around the opening of free agency July 1, it wasn’t until Thursday that general manager Pierre Dorion pulled the trigger on a trade.
The deal went down at about 2:30 p.m. with Karlsson and minor-league forward Francis Perron being shipped to the Sharks. In return, the Senators will get a first-round pick in 2019 or 2020, a second-round pick in 2019 (the best of the two San Jose currently has), centre Chris Tierney, prospect centre Josh Norris, prospect Rudolfs Balcers and defenceman Dylan DeMelo.
The Senators will also receive a second-round pick in 2021, which could become a firstround pick. If the Sharks sign Karlsson or if they reach the Stanley Cup final, it will automatically become a first-rounder. The Senators are also protected if Karlsson is dealt at the deadline this season by receiving San Jose’s top pick in 2021 or 2022.
In the end, the Senators felt this was the right move at the right time. With the club moving into a full rebuild, Dorion felt he could get good return for Karlsson and after the star defenceman turned down an eight-year deal believed to be worth US$88 million July 1, the reality was this was going to happen.
“These things are never easy,” Dorion said. “We know we’re in a rebuild now and we know this is the best thing in the plan for us to have success in the rebuild. We felt that now is the time to trade Erik Karlsson.”
Karlsson didn’t take part in medicals and testing Thursday — the Senators hit the ice for the first time Friday — and wasn’t at the rink until the afternoon, when he got word the deal was done. While he likely knew this day was coming, Karlsson was emotional when speaking with media.
“I’m just going to speak from the heart,” said Karlsson, who was taken No. 15 overall in the 2008 NHL draft held in Ottawa. “I wish we were standing here during different circumstances. It’s a very emotional and sad day for me and my family. It’s an unfortunate part of the business.”
Karlsson, who said Ottawa will be his home “forever,” thanked the organization along with the late Bryan Murray, the general manager who drafted him, and former captain Daniel Alfredsson, a fellow Swede who mentored him when he first joined the Senators.
“It’s very unfortunate that I’m going to have to move on professionally,” Karlsson said. “I don’t think I ever in my wildest imagination ... thought that I would leave this place, but unfortunately we’re here under these circumstances.”
Dorion said he had been working on this deal for a long time and felt he had to act now. The Senators also held serious talks with the Vegas Golden Knights, Dallas Stars and Tampa Bay Lightning, while there was talk in league circles of the Columbus Blue Jackets also kicking tires along with several other teams.
“This has been in the works for a while. We talked to multiple teams around draft time and after (July 1) trade talks heated up,” he said. “We didn’t feel (in July) we were getting the return for an Erik Karlsson type of player. At this point, we definitely feel we got a very good return and six pieces that could end up being eight.”
The decision to deal Karlsson isn’t going to go over well in Ottawa. Not only was he the club’s best player, he was also one of the most popular to pull on the jersey, second only to Alfredsson.
“I don’t think that I could have ever prepared for this,” Karlsson said. “I’ve still got to wrap my head around what’s going on. It’s been happening really fast. Even though there’s been a lot of noise for almost a year now, I never thought in my wildest imagination I was going to leave this place.”
Less than a year away from unrestricted free agency, Karlsson, 28, isn’t coming off his best season. He scored nine goals, had 62 points and was a minus-25, but he’s still widely considered one the NHL’s best defenceman.
I wish we were standing here during different circumstances. It’s a very emotional and sad day for me and my family.