With the start of training camp now just a few days away, the health of the Senators Captain has quickly become the top story.
Last week, there were some hints that Erik Karlsson may not be ready to start the season. His rehab timeline had always been set at around four months but we’ve become so used to Karlsson coming back quickly from injuries that we all sort of assumed he would just do it again.
But yesterday, we got our first real indication that Karlsson likely won’t be ready when the puck drops in early October.
He’s still two and maybe three weeks away from skating and until that happens, there is no firm timeline for his return. It could be a week into the regular season. It could be a month. Karlsson himself mentioned November as a possibility yesterday.
#Sens captain Erik Karlsson provides an update on his recovery prior to the Bell Sens Charity Golf Classic. pic.twitter.com/RlU6MOMoRj
— Ottawa Senators (@Senators) September 11, 2017
And while that’s worst case scenario, the reality is the Senators have to be prepared to start the season with their Captain and their best player in the line up. Karlsson is making it abundantly clear that he will not rush back from this injury and that he has no intention of playing until he’s back to 100%. However long it takes.
There’s no replacing Erik Karlsson. That’s a fact. But his early season absence does mean that some defenceman are likely to get an extended look with the NHL team to start the year.
There’s a good chance Thomas Chabot is one of those defenceman. Chabot was already in the mix for a spot but with Karlsson gone, there’s a desperate need for another puck-moving defender. And someone who can help eat up some of Karlsson’s minutes on the power play.
Listening to Dorion yesterday, it sounds like they could carry as many as eight defenceman to start the year. Barring another injury, Phaneuf, Ceci, Borowiecki, Claesson, Wideman and Oduya seem like the locks. Then they’ll likely have a handful of guys pushing for the final spot including Ben Harpur, Christian Jaros, Andreas Englund and Chabot. Of that group, Harpur is the one with some actual NHL experience under his belt (20 games including playoffs) but Chabot seems like the best fit, given his skill-set.
This time of year, you always hear plenty of talk about “competition” for line up spots. Although in recent years, the Senators have come into Camp with most of the roster spots spoken for. Not this season. At least not to start the year.
Karlsson’s absence is bad news for the Senators but it represents a legitimate opportunity for one of the bubble guys to make the team in the next couple weeks. We’ll find out who emerges from the pack starting on Thursday.
-Yesterday, the Senators announced that they’ll be bringing in former-Philadelphia Flyer forward Chris VandeVelde on a PTO. Could be more to come too. During his media availability yesterday, Dorion mentioned the possibility of one or two more before the start of Camp later this week. He also specified that it’s likely they’ll both be at the forward position. Teddy Purcell is a name that has come up. The Senators have had interest in him in the past and he has a history with Guy Boucher.
-Lost in the chaos of yesterday’s hat release was the discussion on Pierre Dorion’s sit-down interview with Bob McKenzie from TSN. The 30 minute interview covers just about every topic you can think of including last year’s playoff run, the outlook for injured guys like Karlsson and Brassard, Clarke MacArthur’s status, expectations on the team for next season, the possibility of a few young players cracking the roster and even the impending Erik Karlsson contract negotiations. The full video is available here.
