Sportsnet: Erik Karlsson opens up about leaving Ottawa (Video)

[Ray Kinsella]

No I didn't; just having some fun!

Ahh... ok then ; )

 

[Ray Kinsella]

Bowie was more of a performer aka Ziggy Stardust. Freddie Mercury was a great singer and performer

Again... it's a personal choice.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Bowie is the best at everything and if you disagree I’ll fight you.

 

[Multigrain]

Some of the players are starting to get pretty blunt about it now:

Where was that quote from?

 

[Multigrain]

In fairness Wideman (another umm interesting player...) was quoted in the Athletic as making a veiled shot at Karlsson

“It’s just a more fun group to be honest,” Wideman said. “We’re not catering to any egos. We’re not catering to any one particular person. It’s about the group. When you have that, everyone is equal and it’s a lot more fun.”

So could that quote be directed at both Hoffman and Karlsson? He used the word egos not ego.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Where was that quote from?

Looking at this guy’s twitter he also calls Karlsson a locker room cancer and that Jack Hughes is too tiny for the NHL....

 

[Multigrain]

OK. How about “No one’s voice is louder”. I can’t believe for a minute that Wideman is delusional enough to believe he’s an important to the team’s success as Chabot or LaJoie, but what he said doesn’t have to be insane.

LaJoie is a rookie on a great streak lets not inflate his value too much. Defense is the hardest position.
Chabot probably would have been called up earlier if Karlsson hadn't been there but maybe
spending that time in the AHL was the best thing for his game.

 

[NorthCoast]

Where was that quote from?

Must be legit. Well known that Wideman didn't appreciate EK:

"“I mean, you’re talking about a generational player,” said Wideman. “There are definitely some things you can implement into your game, but there is no other Erik Karlsson on planet Earth. And if there is, I’d have to see him in person to believe it.”

“It’s pretty incredible,” said Wideman. “Like, when you get out there with him you don’t even think you’re open, but in his mind you are open because he sees the guy’s going to move, or move his stick. I’ve learned a lot from him. That’s been the coolest thing for me the last two years, is being able to watch him every night from close, and talk to him and learn from him in practice, and just the little things he does. It’s incredible.”

Reporter - "Have you ever been on a team that sticks together more than this one?"

Wideman - "No." ... "This is a team that really believe in itself.



Yes, these are from the playoff run. IMO if any of the players were salty last year it's because they were a close team that believed in themselves according to the mountains of quotes from the playoff run, and the GM didn't believe in them, and ripped the team apart.

 

[swiftwin]

I wonder if Wideman was the "surprise" bad exit interview in 2017. He was made a healthy scratch in the Bruins series.

 

[Ice-Tray]

Must be legit. Well known that Wideman didn't appreciate EK:

"“I mean, you’re talking about a generational player,” said Wideman. “There are definitely some things you can implement into your game, but there is no other Erik Karlsson on planet Earth. And if there is, I’d have to see him in person to believe it.”

“It’s pretty incredible,” said Wideman. “Like, when you get out there with him you don’t even think you’re open, but in his mind you are open because he sees the guy’s going to move, or move his stick. I’ve learned a lot from him. That’s been the coolest thing for me the last two years, is being able to watch him every night from close, and talk to him and learn from him in practice, and just the little things he does. It’s incredible.”

Reporter - "Have you ever been on a team that sticks together more than this one?"

Wideman - "No." ... "This is a team that really believe in itself.



Yes, these are from the playoff run. IMO if any of the players were salty last year it's because they were a close team that believed in themselves according to the mountains of quotes from the playoff run, and the GM didn't believe in them, and ripped the team apart.

Things can change, and people can act differently when pressure is applied. A group of people can be happy one year and have relationships sour the next.

Coaches routinely 'lose the room' and players can do the same. It's silly to try and deflect to management, nor does the situation require people who love EK to change the way they feel.

Things changed in the room between the players, and the group is now happier without EK in there. That's all it is. People can carry on being a fan of his on another team without worry, and we all get to see a better team game on the ice.

Win-win

 

[Multigrain]

Must be legit. Well known that Wideman didn't appreciate EK:

"“I mean, you’re talking about a generational player,” said Wideman. “There are definitely some things you can implement into your game, but there is no other Erik Karlsson on planet Earth. And if there is, I’d have to see him in person to believe it.”

“It’s pretty incredible,” said Wideman. “Like, when you get out there with him you don’t even think you’re open, but in his mind you are open because he sees the guy’s going to move, or move his stick. I’ve learned a lot from him. That’s been the coolest thing for me the last two years, is being able to watch him every night from close, and talk to him and learn from him in practice, and just the little things he does. It’s incredible.”

Reporter - "Have you ever been on a team that sticks together more than this one?"

Wideman - "No." ... "This is a team that really believe in itself.



Yes, these are from the playoff run. IMO if any of the players were salty last year it's because they were a close team that believed in themselves according to the mountains of quotes from the playoff run, and the GM didn't believe in them, and ripped the team apart.

Sounds like he was friends with Karlsson and maybe he was misquoted or someone on Twitter just wanted start something.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Couldn't these comments be inferred to be about any of the numerous players we shipped out since the deadline?

 

[DaveMatthew]

Couldn't these comments be inferred to be about any of the numerous players we shipped out since the deadline?

Yes.

Last year we had a veteran team, and when a veteran team loses, the environment can go sour a lot faster. Especially when those veterans knew, from late November-on, that most of them would be shipped out at some point.

This year we have a bunch of new guys and young guys who are, for the most part, just happy to be in the NHL. Wait 3 years until Chabot, Lajoie, Tkachuk, White, etc establish themselves and expectations are raised. If the team starts losing, and big talk Pierre Dorion tells the media that no player is safe, things will go just like they did last year.

But I'm sure it was all just Karlsson...

 

[NorthCoast]

Things can change, and people can act differently when pressure is applied. A group of people can be happy one year and have relationships sour the next.

Coaches routinely 'lose the room' and players can do the same. It's silly to try and deflect to management, nor does the situation require people who love EK to change the way they feel.

Things changed in the room between the players, and the group is now happier without EK in there. That's all it is. People can carry on being a fan of his on another team without worry, and we all get to see a better team game on the ice.

Win-win

Sorry, but all this EK stuff just seems like a lot of unfounded speculation that is being used to give EM/PD air-cover for the trade.

I honestly don't buy most of it and don't care about the rest. Even IF true, plenty of teams in the past have had teammates that didn't get along and they have had success. Frig, Shannahan stole with his teammates wife. How many cups has he won? How revered is he in the hockey world now?

Mcgrattan and Neil didn't get along yet we still made it to the cup in 2007.

Guess what solves locker room issues....winning.

Guess what leads to locker room issues....losing.

No way these guys are still all smiling after a year or two of losing, which 40 shots against every-night will lead to eventually.


Guess what doesn't lead to a stanley cup...teams without elite players.

 

[BonHoonLayneCornell]

Yes.

Last year we had a veteran team, and when a veteran team loses, the environment can go sour a lot faster. Especially when those veterans knew, from late November-on, that most of them would be shipped out at some point.

This year we have a bunch of new guys and young guys who are, for the most part, just happy to be in the NHL. Wait 3 years until Chabot, Lajoie, Tkachuk, White, etc establish themselves and expectations are raised. If the team starts losing, and big talk Pierre Dorion tells the media that no player is safe, things will go just like they did last year.

But I'm sure it was all just Karlsson...

Agreed. The EK finger pointing is ridiculous imo based on the quotes we have to work with. Too much speculation, not enough fact.

 

[swiftwin]

Sounds like he was friends with Karlsson and maybe he was misquoted or someone on Twitter just wanted start something.

Not the same quote, but he says something similar right here: https://www.tsn.ca/radio/ottawa-120...ressive-on-the-pp-and-even-strength-1.1181086

@ around 4:00, he talks about the PP

I think the big thing is when you lose some of the players that we did. Those are players that other team really key in on, and those are players that really like the puck. As a teammate, you're almost caught in between 'hey I gotta get this guy the puck but he's covered'... That can be detrimental to the PP. I think this year, we're going to share the puck as much as possible.

 

[DaveMatthew]

Not the same quote, but he says something similar right here: https://www.tsn.ca/radio/ottawa-120...ressive-on-the-pp-and-even-strength-1.1181086

@ around 4:00, he talks about the PP

Is that a problem with Karlsson though, or is that a problem with coaching?

Every star player will want the puck. Matthews wants the puck. Tavares wants the puck. Ovechkin wants the puck.

Guy Boucher designed the entire system the last 2 years around Karlsson. The entire idea behind the LD stepping up and dumping the puck to the RD was because he had Karlsson. Nothing else.

When we had Methot stepping up and a healthy Karlsson, it worked well. We got to the ECF.

When we had Oduya stepping up and a recovering from major surgery Karlsson, it didn't. We lost, and like I said before, a losing team filled with established veterans is going to go south, fast.

Boucher never adapted.

So far this year, he has. Let's see how it goes.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

Not the same quote, but he says something similar right here: https://www.tsn.ca/radio/ottawa-120...ressive-on-the-pp-and-even-strength-1.1181086

@ around 4:00, he talks about the PP

That makes sense to me watching the Sens last year. They would sit around and wait for EK to do something or would try to force feed him pucks when he wasn’t open.

None of that is EKs fault though.

 

[Ice-Tray]

That makes sense to me watching the Sens last year. They would sit around and wait for EK to do something or would try to force feed him pucks when he wasn’t open.

None of that is EKs fault though.

It is if he demands that the puck go through him. The comments made by players aren’t about how happy they are that the system changed, they are happier that a person left.

Some folks have all of the excuses in the world when they are trying to defend a player that they like.

It’s funny to watch really, lots of hypocrites in here.

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

It is if he demands that the puck go through him. The comments made by players aren’t about how happy they are that the system changed, they are happier that a person left.

Some folks have all of the excuses in the world when they are trying to defend a player that they like.

It’s funny to watch really, lots of hypocrites in here.

So Karlsson was demanding the puck go through him? Alright then. I guess it was Karlssons fault players stood around waiting for him to do something too.

What comments by all these players are you talking about? Holy shit Melnyk must love fans like this.

 

[DaveMatthew]

It is if he demands that the puck go through him. The comments made by players aren’t about how happy they are that the system changed, they are happier that a person left.

Some folks have all of the excuses in the world when they are trying to defend a player that they like.

It’s funny to watch really, lots of hypocrites in here.

It's almost as funny as watching the fans who, after 6 games of up-and-down .500 hockey, have determined that this franchise is better off without a HOF calibre defenseman who led the team in scoring his last 5 seasons and won two Norris trophies.

They're same fans who've deemed that the player who's 3rd in the league in assists since 13/14 (behind only Sidney Crosby and Niklas Backstrom) as selfish, after reading one comment from Chris Wideman.

Who needs star players when you have Mark Borowiecki and Chris Wideman liking each other.

Amazing!

 

[Micklebot]

That makes sense to me watching the Sens last year. They would sit around and wait for EK to do something or would try to force feed him pucks when he wasn’t open.

None of that is EKs fault though.

Strangely, our set plays typically didn't involve Karlsson all that much, it was Hoffman and Stone to get the through the box play if memory serves. In fact, most of our PP was trying to get the puck to Hoffman for a shot.

It's also odd that Wideman would comment on how Karlsson would demand the puck on the PP given that they rarely saw the ice together though I suppose he could be taking on behalf of the rest of the team.

Now, it's certainly possible that Karlsson is demanding the puck, but if he's doing so to the detriment to the teams PP, well that's on the coach for not shutting it down. At the end of the day, the coach sets the plays, the coach decides the ice time, and the coach is responsible for making sure the players fall in line. Obviously it can be tough to handle elite player's egos so not to surprising if a relatively inexperienced coach had some difficulty with it.

 

[DaveMatthew]

So Karlsson was demanding the puck go through him? Alright then. I guess it was Karlssons fault players stood around waiting for him to do something too.

What comments by all these players are you talking about? Holy **** Melnyk must love fans like this.

Didn't you know? Erik Karlsson is the reason that Cody Ceci can't skate and carry a puck at the same time. He's the reason why Johnny Oduya couldn't skate or carry the puck, at any time.

And did you know why Matt Duchene only scored 2 goals in his first 24 games here? He didn't like Karlsson!

Did I forgot to mention that he's also the reason Craig Anderson had an .898 SV%? He wanted the puck so bad, he didn't even let goalies touch it! In fact, he demanded it!

 

[Ice-Tray]

So Karlsson was demanding the puck go through him? Alright then. I guess it was Karlssons fault players stood around waiting for him to do something too.

What comments by all these players are you talking about? Holy **** Melnyk must love fans like this.

Oooh, EM based insults!

Calm down buddy, if you haven’t been following all of the relevant comments made, that’s on you.

There is no need to take EK comments so personally.

 

[Ice-Tray]

It's almost as funny as watching the fans who, after 6 games of up-and-down .500 hockey, have determined that this franchise is better off without a HOF calibre defenseman who led the team in scoring his last 5 seasons and won two Norris trophies.

They're same fans who've deemed that the player who's 3rd in the league in assists since 13/14 (behind only Sidney Crosby and Niklas Backstrom) as selfish, after reading one comment from Chris Wideman.

Who needs star players when you have Mark Borowiecki and Chris Wideman liking each other.

Amazing!

Yeah, no.