KARLSSON TO STAY, FOR THE MOMENT
Trade talk will pick up again at NHL draft, with more teams seeking Sens captain
The Ottawa Senators wanted a package of steak and lobster in exchange for captain Erik Karlsson.
Sure sounds like they were offered nothing more than ham and potatoes.
So on Monday, anyway, general manager Pierre Dorion made the proper decision in not dealing away the most talented player in team history for well below what his market value should be.
Look at the package that Tampa Bay gave to the New York Rangers for Ryan McDonagh. If that’s the best of what was on the table for Karlsson, Dorion was wise to say thanks, but no thanks to Lightning general manager Steve Yzerman.
“Erik Karlsson is a franchise player,” Dorion said. “There was no franchise deal out there.”
There is, however, a price to pay for having put a price tag on that franchise player in the first place.
The Senators can’t put the toothpaste back in the tube. They made their captain available, for all the hockey world to see, an unsettling experience for both Karlsson and the nervous, anxious fan base that still has no clear indication of where owner Eugene Melnyk is taking the organization.
Now comes the most awkward of situations, with Karlsson playing out the rest of a meaningless season while preparing to go through the whole gamut of trade possibilities again at the NHL draft on June 22-23.
With more teams potentially in the game — incidentally, the New York Rangers now have three first round picks and seven selections in the opening three rounds of the 2018 draft — the return for Karlsson should be better in the summer.
“There could still be changes from now until September, we have to remould our roster, that’s very important,” Dorion said. “We’ll see what the next few months bring, but if Erik Karlsson is here July 1, we will be making him a contract offer.”
Karlsson, who is eligible to become an unrestricted free agent following the 2018-19 season, can’t begin negotiations on a new deal until July 1.
The betting remains that Karlsson won’t be here on July 1.
The bottom line is the bottom line and Melnyk is doing everything he can — including attempting to dump the $33 million remaining on Bobby Ryan’s contract as part of a potential Karlsson deal.
Unless something changes dramatically, it’s still hard to see how Melnyk would consider locking up Karlsson to an eight-year extension in the $80-million to $100-million range.
In the short term, the atmosphere in the Senators dressing room will be a little more relaxed. With so much uncertainty about whether Karlsson would still be here after the trade deadline, players were anxious.
“There’s always speculation (at the trade deadline),” goaltender Craig Anderson said, speaking before the deadline passed. “When the speculation is about your best player, the buzz kind of gets a little bit louder. (Karlsson) brings so much to the table for us. He’s part of this group, part of us. I’ve been with him for eight years now.”
Mark Stone echoed those comments.
“The way social media and everything is now, it’s tough to cancel (the rumours) out, it’s not the easiest thing for a team to deal with,” Stone said. “It’s tough. (Karlsson) has been the best player, the face of the franchise for the last five or six years. It’s not great when your best player is being talked about like that.”
Beyond the Karlsson watch, the Senators were expected to be much busier. Nick Shore was shipped away to Calgary for a seventh-round draft pick in 2019 and Johnny Oduya was claimed off waivers by Philadelphia.
The Senators also put a wrap on last week’s trade that sent Derick Brassard to Pittsburgh for goaltender Filip Gustavsson and a first-round pick, picking up an additional third-round pick from Columbus for Ian Cole.
It could be three, four or even five years down the road before Gustavsson reaches his potential — who from the current group of players and management will even be around then? — but if he develops into a franchise goaltender, it could go down as the type of deal that makes the Senators a threat again.
“He’s really someone we were targeting,” said Dorion, who saw Gustavsson play in Sweden’s top league a few weeks ago. “After I saw him at the world junior tournament (in December and January), I said that’s the best junior goalie I’ve seen in a while.”
Chances are slim, however, that the Senators’ current Swedish captain will still be here when the Swedish goaltender of the future is ready to make an impact in the NHL.