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5 months to get Melnyk to sell
We’ve all heard the pie in the sky theories that Erik Karlsson might still come back to Ottawa in the off-season if Eugene Melnyk has sold the team by that point. There’s a non-zero chance that happens, but obviously don’t count on it. You can be sure that the Sharks will be doing everything they possibly can to re-sign Karlsson, although apparently they won’t be able to do that until February 25th:
While nothing official can happen until then, you can bet that there will still be talks for a contract. With February 25th being the date, then there are about five months for Melnyk to sell the team if the Senators want any hope of bringing Karlsson back. I can’t stress enough how extremely unlikely that would be, but just so you know: the #MelnykOut force has to get to work.
Don’t believe Dorion
Since the Karlsson trade, Pierre Dorion has said a ton of contradictory things about the timeline in regards to if Karlsson wanted to stay or not, and he’s twisted himself into this web of lies just to save face. He’s doing an awful job at it though. Dorion has been making it known that Karlsson was the one who was unwilling to sign in Ottawa, and that is
technically true, only because of Melnyk. He desperately wanted to stay in the city, but only under a new owner.
Dorion has also said that back in February he and Melnyk decided that it was time to move on from Karlsson, but then has since said that when they reconvened with Karlsson back in June and July, it looked like he was looking to get moved. But why would it matter what he wanted if they had already decided they were going to trade him? His logic makes absolutely zero sense, and he is doing everything he can to make it seem like they
had to trade him.
Don’t get caught up in these false statements though. The truth is that the organization decided to move on from him despite Karlsson wanting to stay under one circumstance: a new owner. The team gave him an “offer” that was never going to be accepted, and now the Senators are trying to make it look like it’s all Karlsson’s fault. This pretty much sums up my thoughts on Dorion:
Stone’s comments (or lack thereof)
Yesterday morning Louis Jean dropped a bit of a bombshell by reporting that Mark Stone does not want to stay in Ottawa:
It would make sense if he felt that way, because he has seen most of his friends leave the team over the past year, and I’m sure he’s aware of the horrendous ownership situation. However, despite that report, Stone himself later said this:
That’s certainly good to hear him quash those rumours, and I hope he is being genuine. But at the same time, I can’t help but think about Karlsson saying those same things and still getting moved. Obviously Stone isn’t going to agree with that rumour in public either, so it’s not as if his statement proves anything really. No matter what, Ottawa desperately needs him to stay for the long haul, because he is definitely somebody to build around.
Tkachuk becoming a fan favourite
Brady Tkachuk seems more and more likely to be on the Senators roster this season, and it looks like he is becoming a favourite for many.
The kind of player that he is will easily make him beloved by those who love tough hockey, and he should be skilled enough that he can still be an effective player. Furthermore, from what I have seen online, it looks like he has been great with the fans as well. He’ll have an ‘A’ in no time, and if Stone ends up getting moved too, I can easily picture him becoming captain in a few years.
White a lock for the roster?
Pan from Sens Call Ups noted something interesting yesterday regarding Colin White:
If his banner is up outside the building, I can’t imagine him spending any time this year in the AHL. It looks like they like what they see from him, and hopefully he gets a chance to play some solid minutes in the top-9.
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