The NHL trade deadline has passed and Erik Karlsson still plays for the Ottawa Senators. A more apt way to describe the situation, though, might be to state that Karlsson remains an employee of the Senators. The word “plays” — no matter the context — implies a certain amount of joy or happiness, two things we expect are still in short supply around Ottawa.
Having already made a pair of significant February deals, Ottawa was a must-monitor organization as the sun rose on deadline day: Truly, anything seemed possible. Names like Mike Hoffman, Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Zack Smith were all in the ether. But no plotline in the league trumped the drama created by the fact Monday felt like it could mark the end of Karlsson’s twirling tenure with the Senators.
Instead, about an hour after the 3 p.m. transaction cutoff passed, Ottawa GM Pierre Dorion said he was never actively shopping the two-time Norris Trophy winner — I tell you, GMs and their semantics — and that no “hockey trade” presented to him came close to what’s required to move out a 27-year-old franchise face.
“Erik and I have a great relationship,” Dorion said in response to a logical question about whether or not the damage has already been done here. “I’ve known Erik since he was 159 lbs when we drafted him.”
A little levity on a stressful day is always appreciated, but you have to wonder what can be done long term to change the sense of dread around this organization. Fans’ frustrations are focused squarely on owner Eugene Melnyk and sour sports situations are never more dire than when the issues start at the top.
Hey, maybe trading Karlsson wasn’t the move right now. That was certainly the case if Dorion couldn’t get about twice the package for his captain that the New York Rangers got for theirs in the deal that sent now former Blueshirt Ryan McDonagh to the same Tampa Bay Lightning squad that was said to be sniffing Karlsson.
One thing we can all agree on: If you’re going to trade Erik Karlsson, the return has to be something that instantly makes you understand why the guy sending him away pulled the trigger.
“It would take a special hockey deal to move Erik Karlsson,” said Dorion.
And yet it still feels like a trade of some kind is the end game here. Since it didn’t happen on Monday, the guy who jukes like a water bug will likely have a distinct lame-duck feel about him until this situation finds its ultimate resolution.
In an unmissable bit of a doublespeak, Dorion — who did trade centre Nick Shore to the Calgary Flames for a 2019 seventh-rounder, defenseman Ian Cole to the Blue Jackets for a 2020 third-rounder and B-level prospect Nick Moutrey, and saw defenceman Johnny Oduya get claimed by Philadelphia after he was placed on waivers — said that if Karlsson is a Senator on July 1, the team will absolutely offer him a contract extension that will keep him in Canada’s capital beyond his current pact, set to expire in the summer of 2019.
Maybe that’s enough for some Sens backers to dream of a scenario where Karlsson — who, to be fair, seemed like a slam dunk Senator for life up until about three months ago — stays, fellow blue-liner Thomas Chabot soon develops into the “superstar” Dorion said he’s becoming, prospects Logan Brown and Colin White help fill the centre void left by Derick Brassard’s departure and a little lottery luck puts a first or second-overall 2018 pick into the lineup for next fall.
Count this scribe as somebody who does not believe Ottawa to be the God-awful outfit it has looked like this season, and one that has the potential to at least bounce back to the realm of contending for a playoff position next year.
Given the way things have gone these past few months, Ottawa is likely due for some breaks down the road. But even if good fortune finds its way to town, the real question is how much genuine faith can one justifiably have in this franchise when there’s so much speculation about — among other things — a rank relationship between the man who cuts the cheques and the player who is on record saying he plans to get full value for his abilities when it’s time to negotiate his next contract?
Life without Karlsson still seems like something Senators supporters are eventually going to have to get used to. Sadly, they’re already accustomed to the real problem with their team.
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