This could be Karlsson’s swan song
Monday could be last time we see Senators’ talismanic, talented captain on home ice
Monday is Ottawa Senators Fan Appreciation Night at Canadian Tire Centre.
Perhaps it should also become Erik Karlsson Appreciation Night.
Considering everything that has happened with the Ottawa Senators’ captain in the dreadful, long, lost season, the moment snuck up on us.
But let this sink in: the final home game, against the Winnipeg Jets, could very well be the final time the most talented player in franchise history skates here as a member of the Senators.
It’s a nothing game in the standings — the Senators have sole possession of 30th spot in the 31-team NHL — but given the backdrop of Karlsson’s future, it has the makings of being a major franchise moment.
Let’s rehash the cloud of uncertainty surrounding Karlsson.
While he is under contract through the end of the 2018-19 season, the door opens for negotiation on an extension July 1. General manager Pierre Dorion has said he will offer Karlsson an extension, but the question is how high can — or will — the Senators go? Eight years and $80 million? Eight years and $90 million? $100 million, anyone?
Between then and now, though, there are more than a few significant events looming.
The NHL draft lottery is set for April 28. If the Sens secure the first overall selection, they will be poised to choose Swedish defenceman Rasmus Dahlin, who has been billed as the second coming of Karlsson. If that happens, be prepared for a steady stream of trade speculation involving Karlsson, with the Senators potentially building their future around Dahlin, leading up to the NHL draft June 22 in Dallas.
Even if the Senators don’t win the lottery, they could offer up Karlsson in exchange for the first overall pick at the draft.
If none of the above happens, there’s the question of whether Karlsson, who turns 28 on May 31, wants to be part of what has the makings of a rebuilding process, focused around prospects.
Karlsson’s current contract includes a clause where he can submit a list of 10 teams where he can’t be traded.
The Senators went down this road, of course, during the frantic days leading up the trade deadline, where Karlsson was very much in play. Bobby Ryan has since said that he firmly believed he was gone with Karlsson in a package to a Western Conference team.
That moment passed and for the past five weeks, we’ve gone through the calm after the trade deadline storm.
Immediately after the deadline, Karlsson scored three goals and 11 assists in nine games, rocketing back up to his familiar spot near the top of the scoring leaders for NHL defencemen.
During the past two weeks, Karlsson and his wife, Melinda, have endured the tragedy of losing their unborn son, resulting in Karlsson having been in and out of the lineup.
But after topping the 30-minute mark in his past three games, including Saturday’s 2-0 loss in Detroit, Karlsson will be on the ice for the regular season finale at Canadian Tire Centre.
It certainly seems like the appropriate time to offer a reminder of the career which began when he was originally drafted as a Senator at Canadian Tire Centre (then known as Scotiabank Place) in June, 2008.
Since then, he has developed from a scrawny 150-pound something into the NHL’s most dynamic defenceman for the past seven seasons.
He has been the NHL’s top scoring defenceman four times. He has had five seasons with 50 plus assists, including the current campaign. He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best blueliner in 2012 and 2015.
Then came the playoff run last spring, where Karlsson raised his game to yet another level, scoring two goals and 16 assists in 19 games. All the while, he was playing with two hairline fractures in his foot.
As we’ve seen throughout the difficult 2017-18 season, he hasn’t been quite himself throughout, with some noticeable struggles in the defensive zone.
Sure, anything can happen in the summer. Maybe we will see a smiling Karlsson on the blue-line to open the 2018-19 season next October.
But just in case Monday is his Senators swan song on home ice, it seems like as good a time as any to recognize his career.