When Pierre Dorion walked into the press conference room in Ottawa on Wednesday evening before his team’s game against the Rangers, he said he had just got off the phone with another general manager and could have made a deal “three minutes ago.” Maybe it was hyperbole, but Dorion added, “Just to make a deal to make a deal is not the path we’re going to go down.”
Running through the possibilities, who he was talking to and what was offered, how can it not lead to his Islanders counterpart, Garth Snow?
Snow has some of the most coveted assets stockpiled, and he seems primed to use them to help this team get over the hump. More than anything, he needs a big-time defenseman, preferably a right-handed shot. Wonder if Dorion has one of those?
Listen, it takes a lot to move a player like Erik Karlsson. But a lot starts with a situation like this one, where Karlsson first says something that makes it clear he is thinking of elsewhere as a real possibility, even as he has one more year after this one left on his deal that carries an incredibly modest $6.5 million annual cap hit.
“When I go to market, I’m going to get what I’m worth,” Karlsson told the Ottawa Sun on Nov. 30. “It’s going to be no less, no matter where I’m going.”
That comment cannot be taken without the context of Senators owner Eugene Melnyk being known as a penny-pincher, especially as he now tries to get a downtown arena built. It was clear why on Wednesday night, with a big draw like the Rangers in town and seats in the upper deck of Canadian Tire Center covered in tarps. The team that didn’t sell out playoff games against the Rangers this past spring (in a series they won, mind you) announced the attendance of 13,212. Maybe it was 10,000.
It was also rumored that Melnyk wanted to sell the team, but he shot that down in an email to the Ottawa Citizen on Wednesday night. (Good reporting up there, by the way.) Melnyk said that might have started because he’s going through a regular refinancing of the team’s debt. Now, I’m not a sports-franchise financier, but that still doesn’t sound good, right? At least, not like a blank check for your best player is lying around.
Of course, when Dorion was asked about Karlsson, he gave all the right answers — with one caveat.
“We love him. We want him to be an Ottawa Senator for life,” Dorion said, before adding: “If Wayne Gretzky got traded, I think any player in the NHL can be traded.”
The next part of this equation is what teams are on Karlsson’s no-trade list, and who would he would accept going to? There is no questioning that Karlsson loves Ottawa. As Dorion pointed out, he met his wife there and they are expecting their first child while living in the city. But would the stylish 27-year-old Swede need major convincing to move to Brooklyn, or even Long Island, where he could get some space for his growing family and also have an easy commute into Manhattan? That’s hard to know.
What can be known is that Snow is able to give Dorion what could amount to his best return. The Islanders have stockpiled two first-rounders and two second-rounders in next year’s draft, plus some well-regarded prospects.
Breathe, Islanders fans, we’re told that Mathew Barzal is a non-starter in trade talks.
But terrifically talented and mercurial Josh Ho-Sang, who was just sent back down to AHL Bridgeport on Friday, is a prime candidate.
Would Dorion be enticed by thinking of Ho-Sang on a line with, say, Derick Brassard and Mike Hoffman? The Senators would have to take back some money, but Jaroslav Halak seems a better back-up plan for Craig Andersson than Mike Condon, and Halak’s $4.5 million is expiring after this season. So does something close to Halak, Ho-Sang, a first-rounder and a second-rounder get it done?
It should for Snow, who wants to make things happen right now to help convince John Tavares to commit long-term as everyone awaits New York State’s decision on a possible new arena at Belmont Park. It should also work for Dorion, who might be in an unenviable position, but might be able to trade a franchise player while getting a good return and without tearing down the walls.
Again, a lot has to fall into place for this to happen. But the table is set, and it might end up making the most sense for both sides.
Cameras abound
It kind of got lost with the Rangers slow start to the season, but it’s starting to sink in that the Winter Classic is just around the corner and the Blueshirts are in it. Or, it’s sinking in now because the cameras have doubled (at least) around the team since they got back from the Pittsburgh-Washington trip last week.
You can watch the first episode here.
Rookies rolling
A lot has already been made of the rookies doing so well this season in the NHL, but the 16 goals through 28 games for the Canucks’ Brock Boeser might be the most impressive stat. It’s the fourth-most in a players’ first 28 games in league history, though he likely won’t touch Teemu Selanne’s rookie record of 76 (1992-3), and he likely won’t break the 50-goal plateau, like Mike Bossy (1977-78), Alex Ovechkin (2005-06) or Wayne Gretzky (1979-80). But it should be fun to see if he can reach Auston Matthew’s 40 from last season.
Filthy Flyers
So not sure if anyone outside of Philadelphia has noticed, but the Flyers have been better as of late, having won five in a row. In a division that is already the best in hockey, this is going to make things quite a bit more difficult for the likes of the Rangers, Devils and Islanders.
And it happens that the Flyers still have Claude Giroux, who can still make passes like this one on Tuesday night — blind, through his legs, finding a streaking Sean Couturier, with a tidy finish himself.
Parting shot
If you’ve got the time, give it to this 20-minute interview with Travis Harmonic, one of the really good guys who have come through New York. He’s now out in Calgary, and keeping up the steadfast charity work. (Warning: It’s still not easy to watch someone talk about their relatives who have died, like he first did in this ESPN documentary.)