Although there was constant offseason discussion of a probable trade of Ottawa Senators captain Erik Karlsson were making rounds, when the decision turned into reality, the man of the hour seemed shocked. At a media conference held on Friday after the trade deal which sent Karlsson to the team San Jose Sharks in exchange for kids and draft picks, the player appeared to be in disbelief of what happened.
“As of right now, it is emotional and a sad, sad moment. And even though you have heard a lot of things about this could be possible, I think that you can’t prepare for it, for any of it, so, it’s sad,” explained the two-time Norris Trophy winner.
The reaction made by Karlsson to the trade news is not surprising. The veteran player has played in nine seasons for the Senators, and things between the two parties did not end on the best note. The previous season was difficult for the 28-year-old as he failed to score more than 15 goals for the time in a campaign where he played in over seventy games. To make the situation worse, Eugene Melnyk, the Senators’ owner, and Karlsson had a public fall out.
Despite Karlsson being upset at the moment, one can hope that it will not take him long to find the perks of playing in California. It does not sound that bad a deal to wear shorts and flats all year round to live it. Well, we also hope that he appreciates his new fellow teammates once he gets to California. Once the offensively guarded rearguard gets to play on a defense corps that includes Marc-Edouard Vlasic and Brent Burns, it feels like he probably will get used to the game pretty quickly.
Notably, this new transition reflects that Ottawa is now in a full rebuild mode but with the fans being angry at the present leadership group, it looks like the situation may not be more volatile for the team from here.
