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Erik Karlsson

Erik Karlsson: “They Probably Would Have Traded Me Anyway”

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In a spectacular interview with Sportsnet’s Christine Simpson, San Jose Sharks defenseman opens up about his exit from the Ottawa Senators and what exactly went on between him and management over the last few months. Karlsson confirms that a deal was extremely close at the trade deadline—though doesn’t give any hint on who would have acquired him—and discusses the contract offer that the Senators did make when he became eligible for an extension.

Yeah they did [make an offer]. They did. 

I don’t think it ever got to the point where I had an option to sign anything, it never even got close to that. And even if I would have signed, they probably would have traded me anyway and I would have been somewhere else. 

The Senators traded Karlsson, who was their captain at the time, on September 13th just as training camp was set to open and claimed that it was necessary for the rebuild that they are beginning. The team received a large package of assets including Chris Tierney and Dylan DeMelo, while the Sharks were happy to add Karlsson to a defense corps that already included Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic.

Karlsson also spoke a little bit on the off-ice drama between his family and that of former teammate Mike Hoffman, explaining that no one else in the dressing room knew about the problems between them. Senators GM Pierre Dorion had claimed that the dressing room was “broken” at times last season, something that also needed to be addressed this summer.

Though the trade took quite a long time to actually be finalized, it seems as though—from Karlsson’s point of view at least—the Senators had made the decision to move on from their franchise defenseman months ago. A two-time Norris Trophy winner and one of the most dynamic players to ever play for Ottawa, he is still set to become an unrestricted free agent next offseason and could be out of the Senators’ price range altogether. Karlsson has been rumored to be after a Drew Doughty-like extension for his next deal, a contract that is worth $88MM over eight seasons. The Sharks can’t actually sign him to an eight-year deal until after this trade deadline given the current CBA, though they can certainly discuss it with him or ink a seven-year pact.

Zack Smith, 17 Others Placed On Waivers

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A substantial group of players again went untouched on the waiver wire yesterday, as there remains just one claim so far this season. Today, a new set of names become briefly available on their way down to the AHL. According to The Athletic’s James Mirtle, these 18 players have been placed on waivers by their respective teams today, highlighted by Ottawa’s longest-tenured player:

F Anton Blidh (Boston)
F Colby Cave (Boston)
D Jake Chelios (Detroit)
F Hudson Fasching (Arizona)
F Byron Froese (Montreal)
D Cody Goloubef (Boston)
F Ryan Haggerty (Pittsburgh)
D Brett Lernout (Montreal)
F Nick Lappin (New Jersey)
F Michael McCarron (Montreal)
F Mark McNeill (Boston)
D Robbie Russo (Arizona)
G Harri Sateri (Detroit)
F Hunter Shinkaruk (Montreal)
F Zack Smith (Ottawa)
F Jordan Szwarz (Boston)
F Chris Terry (Detroit)
D Rinat Valiev (Montreal)

Obviously, Smith is the star of this group and easily the biggest name to hit the wire so far this year. The decision to placed the veteran forward, a career Senator entering his eleventh season, on waivers is a curious one. Admittedly, Smith did not play well last season; beyond only recording 19 points in 68 games, he logged a brutal -32 rating, saw a drop-off in face-off success, and struggled in many possession metrics. Nevertheless, he remained a favorite of head coach Guy Boucher and saw a career high in ice time. After losing the likes of Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman this summer, Smith – while not the strongest player – was one of the few loyal locker room leaders left in Ottawa. There has already been a negative response, as Matt Duchene called the move “a kick in the balls” for the locker room, according to TSN’s Brent Wallace. For some reason, the team has decided to move on, one way or another. TSN’s Darren Dreger reports that the Senators have been shopping Smith for some time and had trade interest, but were not able to come to an agreement with any of the teams not included on Smith’s limited list per his modified No-Trade Clause. Now, they will either lose him for nothing in return or have the ability to bury him in the minors if he clears. Such a demotion would clear $1.025MM in cap space of his $3.25MM salary. It is important to note when considering any potential claims, that Smith is signed for three more years, making his inclusion on waivers even more surprising.

The group of Canadiens could also offer some appeal, particularly the 23-year-old power forward McCarron. Although the 2013 first-round pick has not lived up to expectations yet, he has the one thing you can’t teach and that is size. At 6’6″, 230-lbs., McCarron has the frame to do some damage at his spot on the right wing if put in the right system with the right line mates. It hasn’t happened yet in Montreal, but some other team may be willing to take a shot. Veteran grinder Froese, who played in 48 games with the Habs last year, could also get a passing glance, while trade recent Montreal trade acquisitions Shinkaruk and Valiev are somewhat intriguing albeit not likely to be claimed.

Team in search of young, affordable fourth line help could look at the Bruins’ Blidh and Cave, although such a move is unlikely. The same goes for Haggerty, whose placement on waivers comes as surprise, given that no contract has of yet been announced with Pittsburgh for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguin.

Pacific Notes: Brannstrom, Goldobin, Rattie, Suomela

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The Vegas Goldent Knights are in a much different situation than they were a season ago when there were little to no expectations in front of them. The team made the decision to protect their young prospects, returning them all to juniors as well as sending several key prospects such as Shea Theodore and Alex Tuch to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL at the start of the season to protect as many of their players as possible.

However, this year looks like a whole different story. With the team without Nate Schmidt for 20 games and Theodore, who is holding out without a contract, there are many opportunities available to their young defensive prospects and several of them remain in camp, including Erik Brannstrom, Nicolas Hague and Jake Bischoff and it’s possible the team may keep one of them. Ken Boehlke of SinBin Vegas writes that head coach Gerard Gallant may have tipped his hand when asked about the prospects today.

“It’s always been we’re taking our best players,” said Gallant. “It’s not like the situation we had last year, if that’s what your trying to get to, it’s not like that situation, we want to win it’s a completely different scenario than it was last year.”

At the moment, the scribe writes that Brannstrom, the Golden Knights’ 15th-overall pick in 2017 is the leading candidate to win a NHL job. However, Hague, the team’s second-rounder in 2017, has also been extremely impressive on the power play.

  • J.D. Burke of The Athletic (subscription required) released his stock report and writes that Vancouver Canucks winger Nikolay Goldobin has really impressed the team in the preseason and has his stock soaring high. The winger had a strong end-run with the Canucks late last season and the team had hoped that the 22-year-old might continue that streak this year. Goldobin has thrived on the team’s first line next to rookie Elias Pettersson and veteran Sven Baertschi. He’s improved his play and has proven to be both fitter and faster this season.
  • Terry Jones of the Edmonton Sun writes that the Edmonton Oilers should be happy with the impressive play of many of their young wingers, including Ty Rattie, Kailer Yamamoto and Jesse Puljujarvi. Rattie may be the most impressive player so far as the 25-year-old has potted four goals and three assists in just two preseason games and is expected to play on the team’s first line alongside Connor McDavid and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins when the regular season begins.
  • When the San Jose Sharks included center Chris Tierney in the Erik Karlsson trade with the Ottawa Senators, it opened up a spot in the Sharks lineup and two youngsters are quietly fighting hard for that center position, according to The Mercury News’ Curtis Pashelka. Both Antti Suomela and Rourke Chartier have been impressive in recent preseason games as Suomela had two goals and an assist in his second preseason game on Thursday, while Chartier has had a goal and three assists in two games. Suomela came over from Finland’s Liiga after posting 43 goals over the last two seasons there. Cartier suffered through an injury-plagued season with the San Jose Barracuda in which he played in just 28 games, but still produced 21 points in that time.

Trade Rumors: Faulk, Bobrovsky, Ritchie, Wood

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When TSN released their off-season Trade Bait List in early July, Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Justin Faulk was ranked #4, among the most likely players to be dealt. A little more than two months later, all three players ranked ahead of him – Erik Karlsson, Max Pacioretty, and former teammate Jeff Skinner – have changed teams, while Faulk remains in Raleigh. But for how much longer? Appearing on TSN Radio 1050 recently, insider Pierre LeBrun revealed that Faulk was a target of the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer and speculated that the team could still move to acquire him this season. LeBrun opines that Faulk, a right-handed shot signed to an extremely reasonable $4.83MM cap hit over two more years, would be a perfect fit for the Leafs. Toronto has long been searching for a top pair defenseman to complement lefty Morgan Rielly and Faulk fits the bill. LeBrun speculates that the Hurricanes are likely asking for a major package in exchange for Faulk, but meeting those demands may not be an impossible task for Toronto. Several Maple Leafs players and prospects could fill gaps in Carolina, such as veteran center Nazem Kadri, promising wingers Kasperi Kapanen and Andreas Johnsson, and young goalies Garret Sparks and Joseph Woll, as well as a full cabinet of draft picks. There have also been some inclinations that the Hurricanes are preparing to move on from Faulk as well, such as acquiring a new top pair righty in Dougie Hamilton and passing over Faulk, a career ’Cane, for their captaincy. The team is under no pressure to deal their long-time stud defenseman, but if GM Don Waddell receives a strong enough offer, he seems likely to pull the trigger.

  • Columbus Blue Jackets GM Jarmo Kekalainen has been clear that he does not want to trade either Artemi Panarin or Sergei Bobrovsky, but as both remain unsigned and approaching free agency and trade calls continue to come in for Panarin, there has been rampant speculation as to where the star winger may land. After recent comments from Bobrovsky that could be read as implying that his time in Columbus could soon be over, many have begun to predict where he may land as well. In a recent segment for TSN Radio 1200 in Ottawa, Darren Dreger stated his belief that the New York Islanders would be the front runners in a Bobrovsky trade scenario. Dreger adds that there will be more than a few suitors should the two-time Vezina winner hit the trade market or, better yet, the open market. However, Dreger feels that the Islanders and new GM Lou Lamoriello feel more pressure to add a true No. 1 goaltender in their hopes of soon returning to contender status. The Isles currently roster unpredictable Robin Lehner, on a one-year deal, and failed starter Thomas Greiss, as well as two prospects overseas in Ilya Sorokin and Jakub Skarek. Lehner and Greiss do not instill much hope and Sorokin may never make the jump to North America. The Islanders are without a solution in net in the immediate future and could target Bobrovsky at any cost to solve that problem.
  • How long will the Anaheim Ducks and New Jersey Devils wait on contract resolutions with Nick Ritchie and Miles Wood respectively? The restricted free agents continue to hold out for better contracts and miss valuable time in training camp, despite underwhelming numbers through their first three seasons to support their absence. At this time last year, Columbus Blue Jackets RFA forward Josh Anderson – a similar power forward-style player – remained unsigned and was the subject of numerous trade rumors. Yet, Anderson had just 34 points through 96 games in his first three seasons, whereas Ritchie and Wood have more experience and production through the same amount of time. Ritchie, a first round pick in 2014, has 59 points in 186 games. Wood, one of the Devils’ top scorers last season, has 49 points through 137 games. One would think that either team could drum up interest if they began actively shopping their respective RFA, but it hasn’t happened to this point. Wood is not without flaws to his game, but has exceeded expectations and played a major role for New Jersey last season and with more play time has the potential to be even better. In contract, Ritchie has his strengths, but has not lived up to his first-round billing. Between the two, it would be less of a surprise to see Anaheim part with Ritchie.

 

Snapshots: Avalanche, Karlsson, Green

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While Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie has been involved in trade speculation for quite some time, it doesn’t appear as if they’re in any rush to move him.  In his latest 31 Thoughts podcast (audio link), Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that they’re only going to consider a ‘hockey deal’ for the 27-year-old which would take away the idea of a futures-based return.  He adds that Colorado could wind up being fairly quiet on the trade front as they want to get a better read on the young core that they currently have, even if it might result in them taking a step back and missing the playoffs in 2018-19.

Elsewhere around the league:

  • While the Senators stated that they had offered a long-term extension to defenseman Erik Karlsson back on July 1st, the blueliner told Postmedia’s Michael Traikos that he hadn’t spoken to GM Pierre Dorion or owner Eugene Melnyk since November when the team requested his no-trade list. He wound up being flipped to San Jose earlier this month and while no extension has been agreed upon just yet, GM Doug Wilson stated that he’s “very comfortable with the situation”.  If they want to work out a max-term contract though, they will have to wait until after the trade deadline on February 25th.
  • The good news didn’t last too long for Red Wings defenseman Mike Green. Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press notes that the blueliner is dealing with fatigue issues that have resulted in the team shutting him down for the time being.  Head coach Jeff Blashill told reporters, including Dana Wakiji of the teams’ website (Twitter link), that the cause of the fatigue is a virus that has attacked his liver.  As a result, his availability for the start of the season is now in serious question.  GM Ken Holland indicated that four prospects will be pushing for what now appears to be two spots on the opening roster – Dennis Cholowski, Joe Hicketts, Filip Hronek, and Libor Sulak.

Matt Duchene To Be Patient With Next Career Move

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Much has been made of the dwindling core of the Ottawa Senators. Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman are gone, Craig Anderson is nearing retirement, and the teams top three forwards are impending unrestricted free agents – that would be Mark Stone, Matt Duchene, and Ryan Dzingel. Given the current state and direction of the team, it has been estimated by many that all three could opt for the open market next summer. Stone took a direct approach to those rumors this week, stating that he loves Ottawa and wants to remain with the Senators.

As TSN’s Frank Servalli writes, Duchene is not so eager to decide one way or the other on his future. Earlier this off-season, Duchene said that an extension is something that he would definitely consider, but wanted to see how things go this year. Since then, it has gone from bad to worse in Ottawa with the departure of key players, as well as ownership and the front office committing to a rebuild. It seems very unlikely that the season will go well for the Senators, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that it will sour Duchene on sticking around. Duchene called last year a “disaster”, both personally and for the Senators and is looking for a fresh take this season. In his first full season with the team, Duchene’s individual performance and his fit in the locker room and in Ottawa’s long-term plan is instead what will likely dictate his next move. Duchene appreciates being close to home in Ottawa and could cherish a role as a leader with the Senators. Then again, polarizing owner Eugene Melnyk has been apprehensive about awarding expensive contracts and Duchene could decide after a strong season that he has a much better chance at getting market value and finding a winning situation with another team.

Sens fans would love to hear that Duchene is committed to the team, and sooner rather than later. After all, Ottawa gave up quite the package to acquire him from the Colorado Avalanche early last season, including what could turn out to be the top overall pick in next year’s entry draft. However, given their recent rash of bad luck, those same fans would rather Duchene be patient with his decision than be yet another player hoping to be dealt away. Unlike Stone, who – after going through the arbitration process – may not re-sign until after January 1st, Duchene is eligible to ink an extension already. Just don’t expect a decision any time soon, though.

Pacific Notes: Ducks, Theodore, Forbort

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While the Sharks ultimately wound up acquiring defenseman Erik Karlsson, Ducks GM Bob Murray acknowledged to Elliott Teaford of the Orange County Register that they had discussed a similar package of players.  However, Murray stated that they opted to drop out of the talks when they realized that they wouldn’t have been able to realistically give him a contract extension:

“I couldn’t afford him, so I didn’t hold Pierre (Dorion, Senators GM). I said, ‘Hey, I can give you the things you got.’ I was more than capable of giving him what he got. But, if you can’t afford a person, why are you going to do that?”

While Anaheim has more than $6MM in cap space for the upcoming season (an amount that will drop once they re-sign winger Nick Ritchie), they already have over $69MM committed to just 14 players for 2019-20.  Even if the salary cap goes up again as expected next summer, there’s no way the Ducks would have been able to afford an extension for Karlsson and have enough space to fill out their roster without moving out someone of significance.  Instead, they’ll face off against him in San Jose where GM Doug Wilson is optimistic they can work out a new deal.

More from the Pacific:

  • Golden Knights RFA defenseman Shea Theodore is open to both a short-term bridge deal or a long-term pact, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman noted in an appearance on Sportsnet 650 (audio link). However, the team is not happy with the numbers Theodore’s side has proposed in either case.  While blueliners Josh Morrissey and Darnell Nurse signed nearly identical two-year pacts over the past few days, Theodore doesn’t quite have the track record that the others have as he has just 114 career regular season games (plus 40 postseason contests) under his belt which will make it difficult for him to seek a similar payday.
  • Although he was classified as week-to-week with a back injury at the start of camp, Kings defenseman Derek Forbort may resume skating with the team as early as Saturday, reports Curtis Zupke of the LA Times (Twitter link). The injury was sustained at some point this past summer but if he’s able to participate in practice over the next few days, he should be on track to be available for the start of the season.

Atlantic Notes: Canadiens, Maple Leafs, Senators

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If you were heading into the season believing that Jonathan Drouin will be the first-line center for the Montreal Canadiens, you may have to rethink that position. GM Marc Bergevin was on TSN radio today and told Tony Marinaro that he currently projects Max Domi, Phillip Danault, Tomas Plekanec and Matthew Peca as the four centers for the Canadiens to start the year. Drouin obviously still could end up at the position at some point given Domi’s lack of experience there, but it sounds like he’ll be starting on the wing.

The Canadiens have been searching for center help for quite some time, and though there is help on the way with prospects Jesperi Kotkaniemi, Ryan Poehling and Nick Suzuki—though the latter has played quite a bit of wing as well during his junior career—2018-19 doesn’t look like it will necessarily be any different. For Drouin at least the move might be beneficial, given that he struggled to score last season down the middle with just 13 goals in 77 games.

  • The Toronto Maple Leafs meanwhile aren’t handing out roster spots at all to their young players, instead expecting them to earn a role in training camp. Chris Johnston of Sportsnet writes that Mike Babcock expects both Travis Dermott and Andreas Johnsson, who are expected to play big roles on the Maple Leafs going forward, to prove that they deserve spots instead of just acting like they’ve “arrived now.” Many Toronto fans are hoping that Dermott will be part of the solution to their perceived defensive woes this season, but he’ll have to convince his head coach that he’s ready before being handed a full-time job.
  • Ottawa Senators GM Pierre Dorion was on CBC radio with Robyn Bresnahan today, speaking about the dilemma he faced with the recent Erik Karlsson situation. Dorion admitted that he knew he couldn’t “get nothing” for Karlsson by watching him walk away in free agency next offseason. Contract negotiations quickly broke down between the two sides this offseason, meaning Dorion felt he “owed it to our fans to tell them what the plan was and before the season started.” The team is quite openly in rebuild mode, and are expected to give plenty of opportunities to young players this season.

Pacific Notes: Carter, Monahan, Karlsson, Reaves

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The Los Angeles Kings were expecting to have a lot of healthy players returning to the fold this season, most especially Jeff Carter, who went down after six games last season when he was cut with a skate across his left leg, cutting tendons and requiring surgery. The 33-year-old finally returned for a 21-games stint at the end of the season and performed well.

However, Josh Cooper of The Athletic (subscription required) writes that Carter admitted Friday that he’s still not 100 percent and still needs more time to get his ankle back in shape. Coach John Stevens said that it’s not likely Carter’s ankle will ever return to normal.

“I think he really made good progress in terms of getting back to a state of normalcy with his leg. I don’t think it’s ever going to be like it was, but I think he put a lot of work in this summer,” Stevens said. “I think he made big strides in getting closer back to where he was – a little more explosive out of the hole. He didn’t have as much irritation around the joint that he had before. I think he’s a lot further ahead now than he was when he came back last year and played.”

After returning for 21 regular season games, Carter later admitted that his ankle wasn’t truly ready and needed more rehab. Although he scored 12 goals in that span, he struggled with his ankle and was held scoreless in the four-game playoff series against the Golden Knights. Carter’s success is critical for the team’s playoff run as Carter was coming off a 32-goal season the previous year and the team hopes he can duplicate that this year, which might be more difficult for Carter now.

  • After four surgeries this summer, there were a lot of questions whether Calgary Flames center Sean Monahan would truly be healthy at the start of the season. However, the Calgary Sun’s Wes Gilbertson writes that Monahan looked good to go as Monahan potted a goal in their preseason opener Saturday morning against Boston. Despite struggling through a season with numerous nagging injuries, including issues with his wrist, Monahan still managed to post 31 goals last season. Now with a healthy wrist, among other things, he looks ready to improve on that. “I liked his game. I really liked it,” said teammate Mark Giordano. “He had a deadly shot with a half a wrist. So now that he’s fully healed, his hips are good, his groins are good, his wrist is good … I’m excited.”
  • While there was never any rumors surrounding Erik Karlsson and the Edmonton Oilers, many fans around the league were quite outraged when they saw Karlsson headed to division-foe San Jose instead. Considering their desperate need for a dominant defenseman and the fact that the Sharks didn’t give up any significant roster players in the trade, the Oilers were never in any negotiations, because Karlsson had no interest in going there, according to the Edmonton Journal’s David Staples. “You know, he’d be nice to have here,” said Chiarelli. “We weren’t on his list. It was really a non-starter from the beginning. But they got one puck over there, they got a lot of good defenceman. So we’ll see what happens there. But that’s a heckuva ‘d’ over there now.”
  • Las Vegas Sun’s Jesse Granger reports that Vegas Golden Knights’ bruiser Ryan Reaves suffered a skate to the face Friday near his left eye, requiring 20 stitches. The injury was very close to his left eye, making him a lucky man. The 31-year-old winger was signed to a two-year deal this offseason at $2.78MM AAV despite only posting four goals and 10 points between Pittsburgh and Vegas last season. Reaves, however, blended well into Vegas’ locker room and provided an impact on the team’s energy line. He was already back on the ice Saturday.

 

Jean-Gabriel Pageau Suffers Injury In Fitness Testing

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Friday: The Senators have confirmed that Pageau suffered a torn Achilles, and will miss a minimum of six months.

Thursday: For Ottawa Senators fans, today is not a good day. After the team dealt away franchise defenseman Erik Karlsson, they have also been dealt a hefty injury blow during the first day of training camp. Jean-Gabriel Pageau was injured during the morning fitness testing, and Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports is reporting that he could need surgery and a four to six month recovery timeline to repair an Achilles tendon.

Pageau was penciled into the second line center role for the Senators this season and is coming off another fine season with 14 goals and 29 points. A playoff hero in 2017, the 25-year old is a solid two-way player that can take on tough defensive matchups and be a contributor in all situations. If he’s forced to miss months that role probably will go to newly acquired Chris Tierney, and clearly weakens the Senators overall.

With just two years remaining on his current contract Pageau was repeatedly asked about in trade talks this offseason and is still likely one of the Senators biggest chips. Many teams would love to have a reliable player like him in the bottom half of their lineup, especially given his relatively inexpensive $3.1MM cap hit. With an injury like this those phone calls may stop for a while, but not forever. If the Senators are truly committed to an entire rebuild, you can bet Pageau’s name will resurface down the line as a potential option for teams looking at center help.

The team will address the recovery timeline tomorrow.

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