The problem is that while management feels they have done enough, the roster cannot stop asking to be sent out of Canada’s capital.
The Sens offseason saga actually began to unravel early last season. Defenseman (and then-captain) Erik Karlsson and wife Melinda Currey announced they were expecting their first child on 22 November 2017. Axel Karlsson was born on 20 March 2018.
One day later, Axel Karlsson passed away, having been stillborn, and birthed several months premature.
Currey filed a protective order in June against a woman named Monika Caryk. Currey claimed Caryk created a number of fake accounts to harass both her and Karlsson while she was pregnant, and in the wake of Axel’s passing. The legal ramifications of the protective order are still pending. However, Caryk is the girlfriend of fellow Senator forward Mike Hoffman.
It was painfully obvious that Karlsson and Hoffman would be unable to coexist for the 2018-19 season, which begins next week. Karlsson was a former two-time Norris Trophy winner, and the face of a franchise a year removed from making the Eastern Conference Finals.
Hoffman was dealt on 20 June to the San Jose Sharks, who in turn dealt Hoffman to the Florida Panthers themselves, a mere two hours later.
Things in Ottawa appeared to have settled, now that Hoffman was dealt. However, the Senators must have really enjoyed their conversation with Shark brass, as Karlsson was dealt with prospect Francis Perron two weeks ago for four players and three future draft picks.
Karlsson is likely going to be paired with another former Norris Trophy winner, Brent Burns. If you run down the salaries of the entire Shark roster, you would find that three of the top four are defensemen (Burns - $10 million, Marc-Edouard Vlasic - $7.25 million, and Karlsson $6.5 million). In fact, San Jose has more money tied up in the blue line ($29.87 million) than any team in the NHL.
Remember that San Jose also sold a king’s ransom to Buffalo at the 2015 trade deadline to acquire Evander Kane. The draft pick the Sabres acquired in the deal turned out to be Jack Eichel, who will be sharing the “face of the franchise” moniker going forward with this year’s top overall pick, defenseman Rasmus Dahlin.
Now comes word that forward Mark Stone wants to be traded in the wake of Karlsson being dealt. Stone and Karlsson tied for the team lead in points last season with 62. Stone, 26, is coming of his fourth-straight 20-goal season with Ottawa.
Should Stone be moved, the Senators would be missing their top three scorers from a season ago, as Hoffman finished third with 56 points.
The Senators will have no problem filling a full roster for opening night, though it is likely to feature more prospects than anticipated. The question is, who exactly is going to be leading a locker room that while void of toxicity, has more uncertainty of any team in the league? Bobby Ryan or Matt Duchene could be in line for the honor, but Ryan has missed 20 games each of the past two years because of injury, and Duchene was traded to Ottawa in the middle of a game by the Colorado Avalanche, where he was one of their alternate captains.
We all know how bad some teams can be, to where it becomes almost laughable. The Senators going into the start of the 2018-19 season may not even be worth cracking any jokes about. The idea of being moved out of Ottawa is even novel, as I am still reminded of when Dany Heatley was moved to Ottawa in the wake of the 2005 Dan Snyder tragedy.
Couple this with the death of former Senator goaltender Ray Emery in July, and this is one offseason Ottawa faithful are glad is over.
That is, until the regular season begins, and not many victories are likely to put said faithful in a better mood.
-JC24