Erik Karlsson’s future will be known today
Plenty of drama about Karlsson as NHL trade deadline day arrives
The waiting game for Erik Karlsson will go right down to the wire.
With the NHL trade deadline set for 3 p.m., Ottawa Senators general manager Pierre Dorion spent Sunday in his office huddled with his closest advisers and working the phones to see if anybody is willing to pay the high price to acquire the club’s captain and franchise player.
The Senators have held serious talks with several teams. The Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators were all believed to be involved in the talks.
A league executive insisted to Postmedia the Knights were making a serious pitch for Karlsson.
The talk among league executives is that Tampa GM Steve Yzerman wants to add Karlsson badly but he’s having a difficult time trying to get a third team involved to take on winger Bobby Ryan’s contract.
The Senators would like to get his $7.5-million cap hit off their books as part of this trade.
The Lightning also don’t want to take any players off their roster to make this addition and that likely won’t sit well with the Senators.
The Knights have the cap space to take on Karlsson and Ryan’s contract.
There’s so much interest in Karlsson that there are teams involved in these talks that haven’t been mentioned publicly that may be able to offer up what the Senators are looking for in return and find a way to make the Ryan element of this deal work as well.
If this trade is made involving the two-time Norris Trophy winner, it’s going to be a blockbuster.
League sources say the Senators want a massive package in exchange for Karlsson that could include legitimate NHL players, high-end prospects and two first-round picks.
If Dorion is going to do this deal the belief in league circles is he’d like to get five to six pieces in return.
The indications are the 27-year-old Karlsson, who is set to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2019, hasn’t let the organization know whether he’ll re-sign or not, but if the trade doesn’t happen by the deadline then there’s a good chance it will take place before the NHL draft in June.
Of course, since this news has become public it would probably be preferable for both sides if the situation got settled and Karlsson was moved so the club can get what it wants in return while he gets the opportunity to go win a Stanley Cup this spring.
The Senators have decided to undergo a full rebuild this spring and they know they can get big assets in return for Karlsson. Whether that actually happens today or not, the Senators will be able to revisit the marketplace in the summer so there’s no need to rush into a deal.
Several teams have informed the Senators that if they aren’t able to get a deal that satisfies them by Monday that they’d be quite happy to hold talks in the summer when it’s much easier to remake your team. If Karlsson has to finish the year here and wait for a trade then so be it.
“They don’t have to do this deal right now if they’re not getting what they want in return,” a league executive said Sunday.
Added another league executive: “If they wait until the summer the market isn’t going to shrink, it’s only going to get bigger, especially when you’re not facing the pressure of the deadline.”
Of course, Karlsson might not be the only one on the move if the club is able to get a deal done.
The Senators have also held intensive talks with several teams about forwards Mike Hoffman and Zack Smith. The possibility of both being moved out before the deadline shouldn’t be ruled out.
League sources say several teams — including the St. Louis Blues and Winnipeg Jets — have shown interest in Hoffman because of his ability to score, while there are also several involved in talks about Smith because he’s got grit that can help a club get to the postseason.
It’s believed the Senators have offers on both Hoffman and Smith, but have to weigh exactly what they want to do.
The issue with Hoffman and Smith is they have term on their contracts and the reality is Dorion may not want to move both. The Senators do need to play again next season and Hoffman has developed good chemistry with centre Matt Duchene since his arrival from Colorado in November.
The club also has defenceman Ian Cole, picked up in the deal that sent Derick Brassard to the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday, on the market and is seeking a third-round pick in return.
But let’s face it, all eyes are going to be on Karlsson as the final hour approaches to today’s deadline and it’s a situation that sounds like it could still go either way before the clock strikes zero.
All eyes are going to be on Karlsson as the final hour approaches to Monday’s deadline.