WASHINGTON D.C. -- A storm of tweets, rumors and trade chatter indicated to many that by 3 p.m. Monday, Erik Karlsson would no longer be an Ottawa Senator. Fast-forward a day later, and Karlsson remained captain of the Senators, scoring a goal and recording his 500th career point in a 3-2 loss to the Capitals.
“It’s been a stressful time for me and my family and my wife that’s halfway through pregnancy,” Karlsson said following Tuesday’s morning skate. “It’s been a new experience for me and everybody that’s close to me.”
The 27-year-old said that he is happy to remain a Senator, and never sought a trade.
“I never wanted to leave. I never had any say in that. That’s a different part of the business that I can’t control,” Karlsson said. “You hear your name being thrown around as much as it was and, you know, it’s very stressful and not something that I enjoy going through.”
The Senators, who sit last in the Eastern Conference with just 26 wins this season, made a couple of moves leading up to the deadline, shipping out the likes of Dion Phaneuf, Derick Brassard and Nate Thompson and acquiring Marian Gaborik, some prospects and minor leaguers and a handful of future draft picks.
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General manager Pierre Dorion said that teams were certainly calling about Karlsson, but that the returns offered didn’t match the captain’s elite level.
“We’re not going to hide the fact Erik Karlsson is a special player. He’s our franchise player… multiple teams phoned about Erik,” Dorion said following the deadline. “If a player of Erik Karlsson’s calibre was made available on the market, I’d be phoning every day. Erik is a franchise player and we felt there was not a franchise deal out there.”
In 57 games with Ottawa this season, Karlsson registered six goals and 43 points, but is a minus-30 and hasn’t been able to carry his team this season following a run all the way to the Eastern Conference Final last spring.
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With the deadline behind him, Karlsson said he was happy to move past the stress and uncertainty, and that now, he can focus on finishing the season strong in Ottawa while being a leader off-ice at the same time.
“I’m going to do everything I can to be the best that I can be for myself and for my teammates,” Karlsson said. “I think that with a lot of new and younger guys coming in, I think it’s my responsibility to help them get the best possible opportunity to set themselves up for a successful career.”
Coming into his first game since the deadline, Karlsson, as well as his teammates, noticed more of a relaxed and focused locker room.
“There’s a lot of names being thrown out there from our team and a lot of speculation and a lot of uncertainty,” forward Zack Smith said of the deadline. “That’s out of our hands, but it doesn’t stop us from thinking about it, so I think it’s safe to say there was a little sense of relief coming into today knowing that this is our team and you don’t have to worry about the outside voices.
Overall, Sens coach Guy Boucher thought that Karlsson handled the stress and pressure from the deadline well, and didn’t see his game falter given the circumstances.
“He’s been playing a lot of good games lately,” Boucher said. “I think as human beings you can expect of course it’s difficult for everybody coming into the trade deadline. But I think our players handle it well and they show up, and Erik was one of the guys who showed up.”
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While Karlsson said that now he will focus on closing out the season before discussing his future with the Senators, and though he isn’t certain he will return, Ottawa holds a special place in his heart.
“I love this city,” Karlsson said. “I’ve made Ottawa my home and it’s always going to be my home.”