Speculation heating up

With the NHL draft looming, Bruce Garrioch ponders the future of Karlsson and the Sens

Will Erik Karlsson stay or will he go?

That’s what the Ottawa Senators need to know or to decide for themselves.

The Senators may have moved winger Mike Hoffman to the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, before he was flipped to the Florida Panthers, but that doesn’t mean there’s any guarantee Karlsson will be back for next season, and, if the team captain does get dealt, that means the franchise will undergo a complete rebuild.

When the Senators learned that Melinda Karlsson, wife of the captain, had asked for an order of protection against Hoffman’s fiancée, Monika Caryk, for alleged cyberbullying, they had to make a trade.

Although general manager Pierre Dorion said during town hall meetings in April that the Senators would offer Karlsson a longterm extension when they’re officially allowed to discuss a contract on July 1, that resolve will be put to the test this week in Texas.

As Senators officials headed to Dallas to begin final scouting meetings before making the No. 4 and No. 22 selections in the National Hockey League draft on Friday night, speculation surrounding Karlsson’s future with the franchise was already heating up.

Since the Senators entertained offers for Karlsson, who could become an unrestricted free agent on July 1, 2019, before the trade deadline in February, it’s believed some of those teams have already reached out again, trying to get something done before the draft.

The 28-year-old Karlsson is a franchise player who has 126 goals and 392 assists in 627 regular-season games with the Senators. There isn’t a team among the other 30 in the NHL that wouldn’t want him.

The Vegas Golden Knights, Tampa Bay Lightning, Carolina Hurricanes and Washington Capitals displayed varying degrees of interest when the Senators were weighing offers in February.

However, this is also a franchise-changing moment if the Senators decide to move Karlsson — even if they receive an offer they can’t refuse. If a trade happens this week, perhaps they’ve been getting some suggestion in their informal talks with Karlsson’s camp that he doesn’t plan to stay in Ottawa long-term.

A lot of this speculation is based on the kind of talk that happens when NHL general managers congregate in one room. They will hold their annual pre-draft meeting Thursday in Dallas, and that’s when serious talks will take place.

Nobody is sure how Karlsson is feeling about this because he hasn’t spoken publicly since the season ended. He did state then that he wanted to stay in Ottawa, but a lot has happened since then. Maybe he’ll will want a fresh start, too, or doesn’t want to be part of a rebuild?

At this point, it’s anybody’s guess. Maybe the Senators plan to sit tight, waiting to see what happens on July 1, because Karlsson remains a year away from becoming an unrestricted free agent.

So, what would Karlsson get the Senators in return?

The Senators don’t have a first-round selection in 2019, so expect that to be part of any package. They might also have to obtain a defenceman in return because Karlsson is a guy who plays 30 minutes a night and leads the charge on offence.

“It just depends if he’s coming signed or not. That’s the hard part,” one league executive said Monday. “At this point, a team would have him for a year. He’d be worth whatever somebody is willing to pay.” So, if the Senators are serious about trading Karlsson, they may have to give any team involved in those discussions the right to talk contract extension with him. He does have a 10-team “no trade” list, so he has some control over his destination, and the Senators will receive more in return if an extension is agreed to before the trade.

“You can’t predict sometimes what teams might be willing to do because you just don’t know,” the executive added.

There is supposed to be excitement surrounding the fact the Senators have the No. 4 and No. 22 first-round draft picks — the latter acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Derick Brassard trade — but all the focus will now be on what other changes are to be made after Hoffman.

This is the time of year when NHL teams have to reshape their rosters and make big decisions.

The reality is that Karlsson may not finish his career with the Senators after all, but that is yet to be determined.

— THE ASSOCIATED PRESS Although the Ottawa Senators have stated publicly that they plan to offer captain Erik Karlsson a long-term extension, their resolve will be put to the test at the NHL draft in Dallas this week, writes Bruce Garrioch.