On the Ottawa Senators and Erik Karlsson …
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Bob McKenzie on TSN 1050 on the odds of the Senators trading defenseman Erik Karlsson before the trade deadline.
“I’m fond of saying at this time of year or any time of year ‘never say never,’ but I’d be hard-pressed to think… what team out there is going to pay the price required to entice Ottawa to make that deal right now,” asked NHL Insider Bob McKenzie rhetorically when posed the question about Karlsson during a Monday afternoon appearance on Leafs Lunch on Toronto’s TSN 1050. “And I realize there is an advantage to having Erik Karlsson for two playoff runs as opposed to just one if he gets traded as a long-term rental in the summer. And that there’s an inherent advantage to have him now for these playoffs and to have him for next year.”
If the Senators are going to trade Karlsson, they have to get a huge return. adds that the Tampa Bay Lightning are the team that could benefit the most from having Karlsson for two playoff runs. They need another defenseman and would love to add a high-end one.
“If you’re the Ottawa Senators and you get a phone call from Steve Yzerman and he says, ‘Yeah, maybe we’ll do something for Karlsson. What do you want?’ You’re going to start with Sergachev. You absolutely are. You’re not even looking at anybody else.”
The Senators would want more than just Mikhail Sergachev. thinks the Senators may need to get two to four pieces in a Karlsson deal.
“So I would say the odds are much more greatly stacked in favor of him not being not moved by the deadline, but anybody would be foolish to say there’s not a chance in the world.”