Karlsson tries to take trade buzz in stride
OTTAWA— If Erik Karlsson is truly concerned about his future with the Ottawa Senators, then he isn’t showing it, teammate Bobby Ryan says.
“He’s handled it well, as far as I’m concerned,” Ryan said. “None of that stuff makes its way in here.”
The chatter around the Senators is about the future of their star captain, a unique talent fans don’t want to see leave.
With the playoffs seeming to be a distant hope for Ottawa, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion suggested this week he’d listen to offers regarding the defenceman, who will be an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
Said to be battling an illness, Karlsson did not practics Friday or skate Saturday morning, and had not spoken to reporters since Dorion’s comments were published Thursday.
The right-handed Karlsson is a perennial contender for the Norris Trophy — he has won the award twice — and is the kind of gamechanging dynamic No. 1 defenceman any team would covet. He scored Ottawa’s first goal against the Leafs on Saturday.
With the trade deadline set for Feb. 26, the chatter around Karlsson will only get louder.
“When you’re in the situation we’re in, when you’re sitting in the spot we’re in, there are going to be questions from the outside, and rightfully so,” defenceman Dion Phaneuf said. “The movement talk is not a bother, though. The thing that bothers me is not having success.”
Karlsson hasn’t asked for a trade but has said he wouldn’t accept anything but fair market value for his services. He is on the last year of a six-year, $45.5-million (U.S.) deal and could well be paid in the area of $13 million annually next year. Owner Eugene Melnyk may not be able to afford such dollars, but there are rumours swirling about potential new owners who might pay to keep the defenceman.
That’s far from a sure thing, though, and maybe not even helpful since Dorion may have to make the call on Karlsson sooner rather than later. A trade for young players and prospects certainly sounds better for the team’s future than having Karlsson walk away for nothing.
Ryan went through some similar turmoil when he was with the Anaheim Ducks, and says he didn’t handle it well.
“Back then I was: ‘I’ve done well, I played well, why am I the one to go?’” Ryan said. “You take those things personally. You take the things said about you personally. But I’ve learned you have to take those things with a grain of salt.
“A couple of guys have asked me about it. You have to do your best to put it away. For me, it took two years, two years of reading, and two years of being mad at the GM for no reason, two years of being mad at the coach for no reason, taking things personally.”
Ryan said he was “sullen” during his last couple of years with the Ducks, keeping things in, not talking about his problems.
“I didn’t learn the right way,” he said. “Back then I didn’t talk to anybody. I just went to the rink and left. Sullen. Probably not listening to the coach as much as I should because I was (ticked) off. I wish I could take all that back.
“Now if I talk to the guys I say you got to find a way to leave it at the rink. Go home to your life and separate the hockey side.”