THE KARLSSON QUESTION
Teams line up to talk trade
Erik Karlsson might be the National Hockey League’s best defenceman, but in the past 24 hours he may also have become the centre of attention.
With the John Tavares sweepstakes shut down after he signed a seven-year, US$77-million deal with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent on Sunday, morningafter trade talk surrounding Karlsson, the Ottawa Senators’ captain, heated up again.
The Senators did offer Karlsson an eight-year contract extension Sunday, but speculation among NHL executives was that a deal with Ottawa was doubtful, and Monday night the New York Post reported teams involved in trade talks have been given permission to talk contract with Karlsson’s camp.
If that’s the case, expect the San Jose Sharks to step up their efforts to try to obtain Karlsson after failing to get Tavares, even though, according to NHL rumours, they had offered a more lucrative deal than the one he accepted from the Leafs.
Trying to show fans that the Sharks had made a genuine effort, general manager Doug Wilson released what could only be described as a very odd statement Sunday night, thanking Tavares for considering San Jose and crediting owner Hasso Platner for his commitment to the recruiting effort.
“While we are naturally disappointed in the final decision, it’s extremely heartening to know that top players in this league consistently view San Jose as a place they want to play,” Wilson said.
That struck people around the league as a little strange. Why congratulate your organization for giving it a good try?
It’s believed the Sharks are still looking for a big addition because their window to win a Stanley Cup is closing with some of their top players aging, so adding Karlsson might be what puts them over the top.
The Sharks, who have $18 million in available salary-cap space for next season, were also likely in pursuit of Buffalo Sabres forward Ryan O’Reilly before he was dealt to the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night.
The Sharks are always considered contenders, but too often end up being pretenders. Even after they advanced to the Stanley Cup final in 2015, there’s not a lot of faith in this group.
Getting Karlsson could make this interesting, but another league executive said Monday the Sharks didn’t have a lot in their prospect pool to offer the Senators.
Plus the Sharks won’t be alone in pursuing Karlsson. It’s believed the Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning, Washington Capitals and New York Rangers are among the teams that have talked with Senators general manager Pierre Dorion.
Of course, the Knights and Lightning have been included in this speculation since before the trade deadline in February. Vegas could be willing to also take on the contract of winger Bobby Ryan, who has a $7.25-million annual cap hit through the next four seasons.
If that’s the case, though, Vegas would offer less in return, and not every deal the Senators are discussing involves including Ryan’s contract.
The Senators, as promised during a town-hall meeting in April, did table a contract extension for Karlsson on Sunday.
Dorion was short on details during a Sunday media conference at Canadian Tire Centre, but there seemed to be little optimism about getting Karlsson signed any time soon.
“We owe it to our fans, and we made a promise at the town halls that we would make a contract offer to Erik Karlsson, and we’ve done so,” Dorion said. “We’re not going to talk any more about it, but we just thought that we talked about it previously.”
Dorion wouldn’t talk about Karlsson’s reaction to the offer, either, but you have to think that Drew Doughty’s eight-year, $88-million extension with the Los Angeles Kings would be a starting point for Karlsson in negotiations.
In fact, it wouldn’t be the least bit shocking if Karlsson wanted more than that in his new deal.
He can’t become an unrestricted free agent until July 1, 2019, so Dorion doesn’t have to be in any hurry into a trade.
If the Senators can’t get the right return, there’s a good chance Karlsson will be at training camp in September.
The Senators will only get one shot at this deal, and it has be done right, plus they’re giving up the best player, so they can’t “win” this trade.
“We start (next season) Oct. 4 … we’ve got lots of time,” Dorion said when asked about when he wanted to have the roster settled.
Deciding what to do with Karlsson will be a key factor in that process. On that question, now would seem like as good a time as any for the Senators to decide what to do with Karlsson.