On the Ottawa Senators and Erik Karlsson …
Bruce Garrioch: The Senators have to separate the contenders from the pretenders. There are lot of teams that are going to be interested, but how many of those are going to be really serious. They should find that out quickly.
@NHL_Watcher: “Friedman says Toronto, Rangers, Dallas, Colorado and St. Louis could do a deal for Karlsson, judging on strength of prospects pool. He did add, why would Ottawa trade with Toronto?”
@NHL_Watcher: Chris Johnston: “I think he should be dealt now…it’s messy, it’s public, it’s not going well, Erik Karlsson is not happy, there is a feeling he wants out…”
Travis Yost: “there is a strong belief around the league that the Karlsson/Ottawa relationship is beyond repair. Suitors are acutely aware of this.”
Travis Yost: “This cuts an awful lot of ways but the sense you get from talking to people is that Ottawa might be the first to cave on a trade ask here, so long as a condition or two is met.”
Murray Pam: “There is no logical reason for #Sens to deal EK to a division rival and perennial Cup contender. EK could feasibly be in Tampa’s lineup for 10 years. Would Dorion go down this road, knowing the club has to go through Tampa to get out of the division?”
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: The Senators don’t want to trade Erik Karlsson, but they are listening.
The Senators may want someone to give up first-round draft picks, high-end prospects and possibly take on Bobby Ryan and his $7.25 million cap hit through 2021-22.
Three league executives have said they don’t think that Karlsson will be traded by the deadline. The market may be limited now and they could get better value in the offseason.
“I suspect they wouldn’t get their (best value right). You’d have more teams vying for him in the summer,” a league executive said.
The Senators want Karlsson to be part of the solution, but both sides have to want that.
