Star takes game to a new level
Senators star defenceman is building his legend as team advances through playoffs
At another time, alarm bells would have been ringing throughout the Canadian Tire Centre.
The Ottawa Senators’ chosen one left practice early Friday morning — on the eve of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final against the Pittsburgh Penguins — after skating for only 20 minutes.
“Just trying new skates on,” Senators captain Erik Karlsson said, long after the rest of his teammates had packed up their equipment and left the dressing room for the charter flight to Pittsburgh and Saturday’s series opener. “That was the plan all along. So, nothing to read into that.”
Given Karlsson’s injury history, you might think his quick exit from the workout would be cause for concern. The Senators’ captain and two-time Norris Trophy winner has been playing through two hairline fractures in his left foot.
This, however, is Karlsson, who hopes to celebrate his 27th birthday on May 30 by leading the club to the Stanley Cup final for only the second time in modern franchise history.
The normal standards about everything, including injury recovery, don’t apply. Even with one good foot, Karlsson has been an offensive and defensive standout in series victories over Boston and New York.
“Athletically, Erik is one of the most talented players I have ever seen,” Senators general manager Pierre Dorion said. “But he has taken his game to another level. He feels he has to do that for us to win.”
From the flying saucer Hail Mary pass to Mike Hoffman in Game 3 against Boston to the brilliant end-to-end give-and-go rush that provided the cushion in the clinching Game 6 against the Rangers, the signature offensive moments are everywhere.
Karlsson was on the ice for every one of the Senators’ eight game-winning goals in first- and second-round victories over Boston and New York. All told, he has two goals and 11 assists, tied for sixth in post-season scoring and tops among defencemen entering Friday’s play.
For all that, it’s his command and commitment inside his own blue-line that may have impressed most.
Consider the final minutes against New York, with Ottawa nursing a 3-2 lead: Karlsson’s game ended with a 2:30 shift, a 53-second break, a 1:42 shift, a 57-second break, and a final shift of 2:15. He was on the ice for 6:27 of the final 8:17 minutes.
“You’re always tired, but everybody does what they have to do to help the team win and I did my part,” Karlsson said. “Whether I played any more than anyone else, I don’t think that had anything to do with why we won the game.”
Karlsson can be as humble as he wants, but his teammates know better. So do fans everywhere, who are witnessing a coming-out party of sorts for Karlsson, who despite the Norris Trophies has played in relative anonymity for a small-market team.
“When you’re that hard to play against defensively and you still have that offensive weapon, the sky is the limit for him now,” winger Clarke MacArthur said. “I think that’s what the world is seeing now, as we get to the last four teams. He has bought into winning the Stanley Cup. That last game against the Rangers, he’s plus-4, he’s taking hits, he’s making plays. In my mind, he’s the most outstanding guy in the playoffs, my pick for the Norris (Trophy). I’ve seen what he has done in other years, but what he has done this year, it’s not even comparable.”
There’s a temptation in some quarters to suggest Karlsson came out of nowhere, that the Senators saw something in the supremely talented but skinny kid from Landsbro, Sweden, that nobody else saw. That’s not quite right. Karlsson was on Sweden’s world under-18 squad, playing in all the high-profile tournaments.
“He wasn’t playing in the backwoods, where it was an outdoor rink,” said a laughing Dorion, who served as the club’s chief amateur scout at the 2008 entry draft in Ottawa. “Every team saw him. He played in (major tournaments) in February and April. Every team that had five scouts would have seen him there, so he was not ‘discovered’ by anyone.”
Dorion credits the club’s European scouts — Anders Forsberg, Vaclav Burda and Mikko Ruutu — for first selling Karlsson to him.
“He just got better and better,” Dorion said. “He just elevated his game to another level that year and that’s where we knew he would be a first-round consideration.”
Dorion is fond of repeating that draft table conversation with then-Senators general manager Bryan Murray.
“Bryan asked, ‘Who do you want to take?’ ”
Dorion responded, “The little Swede.”
Murray, adopting his best sarcasm mode, then dropped the one-liner: “You want me to take the 5-10½, 157-pound defenceman? Are you sure you want to work for me?”
When Karlsson appeared on stage after being selected 15th overall, Senators fans weren’t sure what to make of him. He was full of flair and confidence, but it looked like the mere suggestion of a bodycheck might knock him down.
“I have a picture in my office of him and he looks like a 12-yearold boy,” Dorion said with a laugh.
It’s shocking to look back and see the selections that came before him.
Steven Stamkos, who went first overall to Tampa Bay, is the only 2008 pick to have outscored him.
A six-pack of defencemen — Drew Doughty, Zach Bogosian, Alex Pietrangelo, Luke Schenn, Tyler Myers and Colten Teubert — were chosen before Karlsson. Teubert played 24 games in the NHL with Edmonton, registering one assist. He has spent the past few seasons in Germany, skating with the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers in Nuremberg this past season.
Nashville used its 18th pick on goaltender Chet Pickard, who never made it to the NHL.
Looking back, Dorion says it’s easy to second-guess the draft.
“I’ve scouted my whole life and it’s not easy to pick 17- and 18-year-olds,” he said. “Sometimes, teams might have certain needs and that’s what they’re looking for. I think we had Erik seventh on our list that year. If everyone is smart, they all should have had him No. 1.”
It hasn’t always been smooth skating for Karlsson in Ottawa.
Like most talented teenagers, he had to grow into his body and adjust to competing against wellestablished NHL players. During his rookie year of 2009-10, he spent a month with Binghamton of the American Hockey League. But his numbers gradually improved and, in 2012, he won his first Norris Trophy on the strength of 19 goals and 59 assists in 81 games.
In February 2013, he suffered a career-threatening Achilles injury when his leg was sliced open by the skate blade of Pittsburgh’s Matt Cooke. When Karlsson returned 10 weeks later, he had difficulty pivoting, particularly to his right. He was often exposed in his own end and struggled against the Penguins during the second round of the playoffs.
In 2014, Karlsson was named team captain and endured his share of frustrations in that role. He struggled with media criticism that he was sacrificing defence for offence, and had his share of clashes with coaches who sought to improve his defensive game.
“He can play 30 minutes a game,” quipped former coach Paul MacLean, “as long as he doesn’t play 16 minutes for us and 14 minutes for them.”
Despite the struggles, Karlsson won his second Norris in 2015, with 21 goals and 45 assists, cementing his status as the game’s best offensive defenceman. He has arguably only improved since then thanks to new coach Guy Boucher’s strict defensive system; his plus/minus (plus-10) this year was higher than in any season since 2011-12 (plus-16).
“We know how we have to play in certain situations,” Karlsson said. “When things go wrong, if you put yourself in the right spots, it’s not disastrous.”
“He has just matured,” said Marc Methot, Karlsson’s blueline partner. “He’s not always trying to do it himself if we’re down a goal. He’s still able to do his Karlsson-esque plays and also set other guys up. He’s able to change the pace of the game and take control of the game. You almost forget how good he is because he makes it look so easy.”
In the eyes of hall of fame defenceman Denis Potvin, Karlsson is the hands-down leader in any Conn Smythe discussions.
Potvin won three Norris Trophies and led the New York Islanders to four Stanley Cup titles. Like Karlsson now, he was often compared to Bobby Orr. Potvin sees even better things ahead for Karlsson.
“He’s going to get even better,” said Potvin, who serves as a colour analyst for Florida Panthers TV broadcasts — a position he held with the Senators when Karlsson broke into the NHL. “I never like to make comparisons, because I had to live with them all my life, but he’s as explosive as any player who has ever played.”
Only one other captain in Senators history has taken the club to the Stanley Cup final. Karlsson is almost in that conversation now.
“When his career is done, there is going to be a great debate about who is the best Senator of all time,” Dorion said. “Will it be (Daniel) Alfredsson or Karlsson? Erik can decide that.”