Tomorrow in Dallas, the Ottawa Senators will call out two names that have the potential to be game-changing players for the franchise for years to come.
It should be a huge day for the organization.
Only those two picks almost feel like an after thought when measured up against the drama surrounding Captain Erik Karlsson.
Just as we saw around the deadline, the league is in a frenzy right now and a lot of is rightfully focused on the availability of one the league’s premier defenceman.
And make no mistake about it, Erik Karlsson is available.
Whether or not something gets done in the next couple days remains to be seen. What we know right now is that General Manager Pierre Dorion is taking calls on his best player. The fact that he hasn’t come out and silenced the rumours in the last couple weeks should tell you everything you need to know about Karlsson’s status.
The last time Dorion commented on the subject it was to promise the fan base that Karlsson would not be traded at the Draft. And to reassure everyone that there would be an offer made on July 1st.
Dorion would probably take that comment back if they could. The CBA says teams can’t officially negotiate before July 1st but that’s a suggestion more than anything. The terrifying reality is that by this point, the team has a pretty good sense where they stand with EK65.
And based on a lot of the talk out there right now, it’s not good for the Senators.
To this point, the Vegas Golden Knights are the only team that has been specifically linked to Karlsson. The Oilers would apparently have interest but Edmonton is on Karlsson’s no trade list. The Rangers make sense. The Hurricanes and Avalanche have both been mentioned as possible landing spots. Nashville? Maybe Tampa Bay circles back?
One thing that’s worth pointing out about the Karlsson rumours is it’s clear that none of the talk originates in Ottawa’s front office.
Respected insiders like Bob McKenzie, Pierre LeBrun and Darren Dreger are mostly piecing this together based on what they’re hearing from other teams. Pierre Dorion has gone into a lock-down mode of sorts and it’s making it next to impossible to get a good read on where the Senators stand heading into what feels like a franchise-defining 48 hours.
We might get a better idea later today when Dorion meets with the media in Dallas.
Nobody knows exactly how this situation will play out. But it certainly seems like we should at least be preparing ourselves for the possibility that one of the best players in franchise history will be on the move in the next couple days.
Fuck.
