Almost all the big news has been taken care of so far in the NHL. John Tavares finally picked his team of the future, Paul Stastny left the Winnipeg Jets, and Ryan O’Reilly is officially out of Buffalo. Now, the big news will shift solely towards Ottawa Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson.
Entering the final season of a 7-year 45.5 million contract, Karlsson has been at the centre of NHL trade talks. The Ottawa Senators are seemingly in the midst of a rebuild and don’t fit the bill as a logical fit in the coming year. The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta revealed yesterday that the Swede is seeking a deal similar to Drew Doughty’s 8x11 contract and that the Vegas Golden Knights, New York Rangers and New York Islanders are three of the 6-7 teams after him. But of the bunch, it’s looking like Vegas might have the upper hand. Earlier today, TSN’s Travis Yost tweeted that the Senators put the defenceman personally in touch with Golden Knights general manager George McPhee.
Vegas fans were obviously ecstatic after reading Yost’s tweet.
Vegas has all of the assets (and cap room) to make a deal work. After wheeling and dealing before and after last year’s draft, McPhee could be willing to give up a ton of draft picks to acquire Karlsson’s services. If he was willing to give up a 1st, a 2nd, and a 3rd for Tomas Tatar, who knows what he’d be willing to include in a package deal for Karlsson.
It seems like only a matter of time before Karlsson is sent packing, so it will be interesting to see what exactly happens with him in the near future.
(H/T Travis Yost)
