Karlsson likely starts season in press box
Since that sunsplashed day in June that doctors shaved down the bone and inserted an artificial tendon deep inside his reconstructed ankle, Erik Karlsson hasn’t even tried to wriggle his foot into a skate boot, let alone step on the ice.
He doesn’t know when it will happen. Nor can he predict whether he’ll be ready for the Ottawa Senators’ season opener Oct. 5 against the Washington Capitals, although he told Postmedia on Wednesday it’s “not likely.”
For the captain of an NHL team that came just one Pittsburgh Penguins doubleovertime goal away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final this spring, such uncertainty would seem to be a crushing blow. General manager Pierre Dorion wishfully predicted at the time of the surgery that a four- month recovery would allow Karlsson to suit up for the 2017-18 curtain- raiser. Now all bets seem to be off.
Yet, even with the road ahead seemingly so murky, here was Karlsson at NHL headquarters in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday sporting his usual trademark smile, exchanging greetings with fellow top stars such as Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, all the while accepting whatever hand fate dealt him.
After all, in those gloomy times when he gets down, he finds motivation from the memories of his mentor, his friend, his inspiration.
That’s how much the late Bryan Murray meant to him.
Murray died Aug. 12 after succumbing to colon cancer. Not once during his valiant fight with the despicable disease did the longtime Senators executive show any semblance of feeling sorry for himself. At least not to Karlsson.
If Murray could take the high road in a battle much more serious than the one Karlsson is battling, the Sens captain certainly can tackle his own adversity with the same semblance of grace.
“I’ve been very fortunate in my personal life to not experience those types of things, deaths in general,” Karlsson said during the NHL’s annual media tour. “It’s something I’m not really accustomed to.”
Of course, that has changed over the past few years when it comes to the Senators family. Before Murray’s death, assistant coach Mark Reeds died from cancer in 2015, another lifealtering moment Karlsson won’t soon forget.
“We’ve gone t hrough some tough times as an organization losing some important people,” Karlsson said. “In Bryan’s case, his last time, he handled extremely well. The way he held himself together, he made it normal for everyone. Every time he came in, he was being himself. He didn’t let it affect him or affect others. And that’s what’s going to be remembered, especially by the younger kids who didn’t get to be around him a lot.
“I didn’t see any change in him — other than looks and appearance — from the time I first got to Ottawa to his last days. It kind of tells the type of person that he was. And again, he lived a long and happy life. It’s one of the things he kept saying. He was always light about it and about the battle he had.
“I know the special bond Bryan and I had. I cherish that.”
With Murray’s death having brought some welcome perspective, Karlsson is taking his own cloudy situation in stride. No use fretting about things you can’t control.
“I haven’t been able to do anything really,” he said. “I was told that for three months there would be no activity whatsoever and no real pressure on anything. So it’s been difficult … but at the same time I’m going to treat it — and we’re going to treat it — to make sure it’s not going to affect me in my longterm career as well.
“I don’t think the opener is something I’m aiming for. Whether I get there or not, it’s tough to say. I haven’t started skating yet. Once I start skating, that will be the time I know how it really feels.
“We don’t really have a timetable on anything. I’m going to be back when I feel 100 per cent and it’s not going to compromise my future.”