NHL Rumors: Erik Karlsson on Comments About Him Returning to Ottawa

Sportsnet: Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson when asked about the possibility of him ending up back with the Ottawa Senators.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Reporter: “Erik, we know what your contract situation but that doesn’t stop some of the guys up in Ottawa, that maybe there was a chance you might find your way back to Ottawa.

Karlsson: “Yeah, that’s Canada for you. Played there for a long time so I kind of know how that game works. They got, they got a lot of things to talk about everyday because they got a lot of airtime but very few things to actually discuss.

So they like to, you know, make up these, you know, what if scenarios and, and that’s just the way it is and it’s not something that I really, you know, look into or worry too much about.

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Reporter: “Just for the record. You’re still you’re happy with Pittsburgh. Happy that you came here.

Karlsson: “Yeah, yeah, I think, you know, I’ve been, I’ve been welcomed great here. And it obviously hasn’t gone the way that we expected but it’s a great group of guys in here and a fantastic organization and I’ve enjoyed my time so far, and I’m looking forward to enjoy the future of it as well.”

TSN: Marc Methot on his tweet about Erik Karlsson and the Ottawa Senators.

** NHLRumors.com transcription

Geno Reda: “Back now with Marc Methot. Marc interesting comments by your old teammate Erik Karlsson. And it’s not so coincidental. You spent five seasons playing on a pair with Karlsson. You got to know him really well. You know what his hot button items are and you kind of sparked this entire conversation and his chirping of the Canadian media. Explain what you did.”

Methot: “Well, Pittsburgh was in town the other night. Obviously playing against the Ottawa Senators and just having watched that game and Pittsburgh being maybe a bit of an older team, I thought it’d be a good idea to go on Twitter, and just type ‘Bring Erik Karlsson home.’ That was essentially what I wrote.

Obviously, Erik is from Sweden, but his wife is from Ottawa. He’s got a lot of extended family here. So it just made sense at the time and it was almost sort of an attempt to troll him a little bit and it obviously worked because he looked very uncomfortable in that interview answering those questions. So there’s no hiding when I’m around, obviously, I called him out. I haven’t heard from him just yet, but I’m sure I will soon.

Reda: “Is he right? Are we, are we pretty aggressive in the Canadian media always looking for stories to kind of dig a little deeper with?

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Methot: “Well, Gino, what do you think we’re here we are talking about him and giving this story a little bit of air, right? So we’re having fun with it. And I think ultimately with Erik, he has his moments with the media here and there. But he’s a competitor. I respect that. He didn’t say no. He didn’t shut it down. So there’s hope here for Ottawa fans that maybe in the near future, he may end up on this team.”