On the Ottawa Senators
Ken Warren of the Ottawa Sun: Will tonight’s home game be Erik Karlsson‘s last in a Senators jersey?
The Senators can start negotiations and sign Karlsson after July 1st. GM Pierre Dorion as said that he’s going to make Karlsson an offer, but how big is he able to go? Will it be eight years and $80 million? $90 million? $100 million?
If the Senators win the draft lottery and the right to draft defenseman Rasmus Dahlin, Karlsson trade speculation may continue to grow. The Senators could then shift to building their team around Dahlin.
If the Senators don’t win the lottery, they could look to offer up Karlsson to the team that does win.
Karlsson can submit a list of ten teams that he won’t accept a trade too.
He’s still not fully recovered from the foot surgery he underwent last offseason, but his play has improved.
Mike Johnston of Sportsnet: The Ottawa Senators owe the Colorado Avalanche a first-round pick. It is top-ten protected this year, deferring to next year if they so choose.
The lowest the Senators may fall is to No. 9 after the draft lottery (if they win their remaining games, and others lose). If the Sens win one of the drawings and remain in the top three, whether to keep the pick or not becomes an easier decision.
“The feeling is the Senators will use most of the time they have left here,” Johnston said. “They’re going to wait until the draft lottery next month to meet with their scouts, to assess what that top 10 looks like, and an interesting aspect of this trade is that they have right until June 22 on the draft floor to shift it. They might wait almost that long because they really want to make sure they’re making the right decision about where they end up.”
If the Senators hold on to their pick this year, next year’s goes to the Avalanche and is unprotected. The Senators also have the Penguins first-round pick this year from the Derick Brassard trade.