Senators’ futility may hurt Karlsson
Team success tends to play a factor in voting
• Marc Methot prefaced his comments by saying he was going to sound “ridiculous.”
After all, his teammate, Erik Karlsson, was not only a two- time Norris Trophy winner, but he had also led defencemen in scoring last season with 82 points in 82 games and tied for fourth overall in scoring, the first time in 30 years that a defenceman had done so.
And yet, rather than suggest the Norris Trophy was Karlsson’s to lose, Methot argued the Senators defenceman was probably a “dark horse” finalist compared to Los Angeles Kings’ Drew Doughty and San Jose Sharks’ Brent Burns only because of where Ottawa finished in the standings.
“He’s won two Norris ( t rophies) already, so it sounds ridiculous to be honest,” said Methot, who is Karlsson’s longtime defence partner. “But everything’s amplified when you don’t make the playoffs. Everybody feels the brunt end of that. And sure, it just looks better when you have a fantastic season points- wise and make the playoffs too.”
Methot is not exactly wrong on this.
Ever since 1953- 54, when the Norris Trophy has been awarded to the league’s best defenceman, every single winner has played f or a team that qualified for the playoffs. Bobby Orr won the Norris eight times. The only year he didn’t ( and played in more than 20 games) was in 1967, when the Boston Bruins finished with the worst record in the league.
This year’s Senators, who finished in 11th place in the Eastern Conference standings, were not quite as bad. In fact, they were the best of the seven Canadian teams. But compared to last year, when Ottawa went on a Cinderella- like run in the final months and unexpectedly made the playoffs, it was a disappointing end to the season.
For Karlsson, who actually had a better individual season this year, it is nearly impossible to separate his success from the team’s failure — especially when Doughty’s Kings had 102 points and Burns’ Sharks advanced to the Stanley Cup final.
“I think it goes hand in hand a bit,” Karlsson said of personal and team success. “We’re all disappointed with the season we had this year in Ottawa and I don’t think anyone is really pleased with anything they did, myself included. That’s just the way we are and the way we think.
“We want team success more than anything else. For me, it was a disappointing year.”
Team success does not only shape opinions, it can shape a player’s style of game. Karlsson led all Ottawa players in points. And while he takes pride in being an offensive defenceman, he also believes his reputation as a risk- taker and big- time points producer is a byproduct of playing for a team that has sig- nificant holes in its roster.
Put him on Los Angeles, where the team is a perennial Stanley Cup contender, and he would probably sit back and feel less pressure to generate offence.
“If we were to swap teams, it would be pretty equal numbers- wise,” Karlsson said of Doughty, who had 51 points. “I think that we play very similar in every aspect of the game, we just play on different teams. When ( Doughty) came to L. A., they were not very good and they’ve been really good for the past five, six years that he’s been there. That changes a little bit how he plays the game.
“I’ve been in Ottawa for seven years now and we’ve never made it past t he second round and never been a contender by any means. That changes things on how you play the game also.”
Said Doughty: “I definitely see a lot of similarities in the way we think the game and run the power play, but maybe i f he was playing in the West on a defensive team like L. A., he would have to play that way and he would be good at it. But in Ottawa he’s not told to play like it.”
It is not just Karlsson whose style has been influenced — and who might have also gone under appreciated — because of the team he plays on. P. K. Subban, who scored 51 points this season, was left off Canada’s World Cup of Hockey roster despite playing on the 2014 Olympic team. One reason? The Montreal Canadiens had the fourth- worst record in the East.
“I think I would be wrong to say that it doesn’t play a role,” said Subban. “It’s a huge role, in my opinion. I think the style your team plays is important as well. Some defencemen may never get over 50 points because of the style their team plays.”
As Karlsson said: “I have to do certain things for us to win games. It’s not always going to be the right thing or whatnot. When we get to where we want to be as a team, I don’t think I will have to play that much of an offensive role.”