King Karlsson - The Captain and The Playoff Warrior

[CanadianPensFan1]

And that's exactly what the eye test illustrates too, ya.

Karlsson is the entire team. Without him I seriously wouldn't watch the Senators.

I wouldnt go that far. The sens got some really good players. Stone. Hoffman. Ryan. Anderson. It's not like they are bereft of any talent.

They just need to plug some holes.

 

[ciderfylla]

This guy is absurdly good. Regardless of whether you look at his numbers or the way he plays, he's just on a different level. Hope he gets to play for the cup one day.

 

[Wings4Life]

Probably the best defenseman in these playoffs, with a broken foot no less. Hats off for an impressive run.

 

[Sureves]

I wouldnt go that far. The sens got some really good players. Stone. Hoffman. Ryan. Anderson. It's not like they are bereft of any talent.

They just need to plug some holes.

Well, no team in the league bereft of any talent.

But pick a team, any team, remove their best player (i.e. in Ottawa's case Karlsson) and I think the Sens are worse than any other team in the league except for maybe 5 teams (won't name them to avoid being a jerk to those fanbases).

 

[MNRube]

Does more for his team than anyone else does. In ny book, that makes him the best player in the NHL.

 

[amethyst]

Does anyone think Karlsson can honestly win with Ottawa? The franchise seems like it's a mess and they have no top end talent up front. Turris & Brassard are not number 1 centres and the whole team relies on him WAY TOO MUCH. Frustrating.

I don't know...I just hope he doesn't go to the Bourque route to finally win but it wouldn't surprise me.

 

[LynxBud]

Karlsson did everything he could for this team during this run. Would've been nice if he wasn't hurt, but it's how she goes in the playoffs.

Hopefully over the offseason Melnyk n Dorion can get him some more help. This team falls apart when he isn't on the ice. The difference with and without him on the ice is astounding.

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Karlsson will never win a championship.

 

[gretskidoo]

It says everything that only a few Kings and Sharks fans here and there still pretend he's bad.

Good luck convincing anyone else after these playoffs.

 

[Korpse]

Does anyone think Karlsson can honestly win with Ottawa? The franchise seems like it's a mess and they have no top end talent up front. Turris & Brassard are not number 1 centres and the whole team relies on him WAY TOO MUCH. Frustrating.

I don't know...I just hope he doesn't go to the Bourque route to finally win but it wouldn't surprise me.

Hopefully you get sick of having to watch your favorite player in Ottawa and find a new favorite player.

 

[Vlad The Impaler]

Does anyone think Karlsson can honestly win with Ottawa? The franchise seems like it's a mess and they have no top end talent up front.

It's a strange question to ask at this very moment in the NHL. I think this is the most remarkable playoffs season in a long time, with plenty of surprise stories and upsets.

Teams are overcoming adversitiy and injuries. The Pens are carrying on with guys like Hainsey playing important roles on defense after losing key blueliners. The Preds experience the reverse problem with key forwards falling in combat. They barely made the playoffs !

We had the Blue Jackets Cinderall season. The Hawks sweep in the first round, plenty of stuff. And of course, we had the Sens overcoming a lot of adversity and then making a run. The Sens problem is not mainly forwards but rather having a goalie who can stop a beachball and be a consistent presence.

And the story of Matt Murray, a 3rd round pick who broke out suddenly and took the #1 job from a long time starter is a good demonstration that this can happen at anytime, to any team.

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

Does anyone think Karlsson can honestly win with Ottawa? The franchise seems like it's a mess and they have no top end talent up front. Turris & Brassard are not number 1 centres and the whole team relies on him WAY TOO MUCH. Frustrating.

I don't know...I just hope he doesn't go to the Bourque route to finally win but it wouldn't surprise me.

Ottawa won't win anything until they spend to the cap

 

[VictorLustig]

Ottawa won't win anything until they spend to the cap

Really? They were a fortunate bounce away from going to the SC final this year, why couldn't they go all the way next year?

 

[swiftwin]

Ottawa won't win anything until they spend to the cap

They will spend to the cap. They have done so in the past when they were contenders circa 2006-2009. Melnyk only put an internal budget in place after our "rebuild" in 2010. Now that we've shown that we have a good core to build around, I expect that we will be a cap team in the near future.

 

[ZeroPucksGiven]

Really? They were a fortunate bounce away from going to the SC final this year, why couldn't they go all the way next year?

Why didn't SJ win the Cup THIS year after being so close last year? Last year is in the past and has zero bearing on what will happen next year or 2 years from now. There's a reason what the Pens have done hasn't been replicated in about 10 yrs (back to back Finals appearances)

Do you think playing EK so much is sustainable?
What about having a negative overall goal differential?
Will players keep buying into a system that is the anti-thesis of the aggressive sport that is hockey? Easy to commit to something for a portion of the year when the playoffs are a possibility.
Anderson is what, 37? Do you think he can repeat the success he's had?

This was a team that was overall very average and they came into the playoffs playing very well. Nothing wrong with that- the Kings were the 8th seed in 2012. But there are some underlying issues with this team that you can't say "yup this team is a lock to win 2 rounds"

 

[Micklebot]

It's a strange question to ask at this very moment in the NHL. I think this is the most remarkable playoffs season in a long time, with plenty of surprise stories and upsets.

Teams are overcoming adversitiy and injuries. The Pens are carrying on with guys like Hainsey playing important roles on defense after losing key blueliners. The Preds experience the reverse problem with key forwards falling in combat. They barely made the playoffs !

We had the Blue Jackets Cinderall season. The Hawks sweep in the first round, plenty of stuff. And of course, we had the Sens overcoming a lot of adversity and then making a run. The Sens problem is not mainly forwards but rather having a goalie who can stop a beachball and be a consistent presence.

And the story of Matt Murray, a 3rd round pick who broke out suddenly and took the #1 job from a long time starter is a good demonstration that this can happen at anytime, to any team.

Anderson was certainly not the cause of Ottawa being unable to beat the penguins, he had one bad game in the series, though he certainly struggled at times against the Bruins and Rangers.

TBH, Ottawa's real problem imo is an inability to create any offensive pressure when Karlsson isn't on the ice. This might be an issue with forwards, or it could be a problem with depth D. Chabot should help long term, and one Elite forward added to the mix would go a long way to help too, particularly if that guy happens to be a PP QB specialist like Giroux.

 

[pm88]

He's a tremendous player. Nearly 20 points on 1 good foot, not to mention he always showed up in the biggest games this playoff run for Ottawa. He's still in his prime too, so we can expect atleast another 5 or so excellent years from him before he starts to show some decline. Maybe even more than 5, who knows

 

[Stuzchuk]

It's a strange question to ask at this very moment in the NHL. I think this is the most remarkable playoffs season in a long time, with plenty of surprise stories and upsets.

Teams are overcoming adversitiy and injuries. The Pens are carrying on with guys like Hainsey playing important roles on defense after losing key blueliners. The Preds experience the reverse problem with key forwards falling in combat. They barely made the playoffs !

We had the Blue Jackets Cinderall season. The Hawks sweep in the first round, plenty of stuff. And of course, we had the Sens overcoming a lot of adversity and then making a run. The Sens problem is not mainly forwards but rather having a goalie who can stop a beachball and be a consistent presence.

And the story of Matt Murray, a 3rd round pick who broke out suddenly and took the #1 job from a long time starter is a good demonstration that this can happen at anytime, to any team.

there's absolutely no credibility behind this...

it's like saying Montreal's problem is in the net. Ottawa gave the best series to ¨Pittsburgh so far and Anderson was the reason why.

 

[Sensin5]

Karlsson will never win a championship.

It is this kind of garbage post that makes visiting here such a challenge.

Holy crap what total ignorance.

 

[mindfly]

I don't think players think winning championship is the most important.. maybe 3rd most important after:

1. Best possible contract/salary.. a.k.a money.
2. Best living enviroment.. includes housing, neighbourhood, weather/climate, schools, family situation.
3. Winning championship..

If Karlsson has 1 and 2, then 3 would just be icing on the cake. That is, 'nice if it happens but not the end of the world if I don't win.'

 

[spcastlemagic]

What an amazing player. As a Pens fan, he reminds in a way of Malkin - every time he starts lugging the puck up the ice, you are on your toes a little bit, regardless of what odds of him doing anything with it appear to be. You just know that if he's skating and has the puck, you are not where you want to be defensively!

 

[Micklebot]

Why didn't SJ win the Cup THIS year after being so close last year? Last year is in the past and has zero bearing on what will happen next year or 2 years from now. There's a reason what the Pens have done hasn't been replicated in about 10 yrs (back to back Finals appearances)

Do you think playing EK so much is sustainable?
What about having a negative overall goal differential?
Will players keep buying into a system that is the anti-thesis of the aggressive sport that is hockey? Easy to commit to something for a portion of the year when the playoffs are a possibility.
Anderson is what, 37? Do you think he can repeat the success he's had?

This was a team that was overall very average and they came into the playoffs playing very well. Nothing wrong with that- the Kings were the 8th seed in 2012. But there are some underlying issues with this team that you can't say "yup this team is a lock to win 2 rounds"

I really don't get this. The players will continue to buy into the system until it stops working. They care about winning, not entertaining opposition team's fans. Beyond that, teams using trap systems is not some novel new concept. The devils did it for quite a while and won several cups doing so. The Wild trapped for years, Ottawa was a trap team under Martin and was one of the better teams in the league.

Yes, Anderson is a question mark, but Ottawa can certainly find another starter. And they've been playing EK so much since 2011-12, so yes, it appears to be sustainable, but the hope is Chabot will reduce their reliance on him.

 

[Raccoon Jesus]

They will spend to the cap. They have done so in the past when they were contenders circa 2006-2009. Melnyk only put an internal budget in place after our "rebuild" in 2010. Now that we've shown that we have a good core to build around, I expect that we will be a cap team in the near future.

That's good to hear. Would be impossibly hard to justify pinching pennies after deep playoff run/revenue and with EK's free agency looming.

Does anyone think Karlsson can honestly win with Ottawa? The franchise seems like it's a mess and they have no top end talent up front. Turris & Brassard are not number 1 centres and the whole team relies on him WAY TOO MUCH. Frustrating.

I don't know...I just hope he doesn't go to the Bourque route to finally win but it wouldn't surprise me.

I mean, they just rode him on one leg and who knows what else to Game 7 OT vs. the defending champs. If that's not encouraging, I don't know what is.

 

[amethyst]

I don't think players think winning championship is the most important.. maybe 3rd most important after:

1. Best possible contract/salary.. a.k.a money.
2. Best living enviroment.. includes housing, neighbourhood, weather/climate, schools, family situation.
3. Winning championship..

If Karlsson has 1 and 2, then 3 would just be icing on the cake. That is, 'nice if it happens but not the end of the world if I don't win.'

True but EK has shown from his interviews and on ice that he's VERY competitive. he definitely wants to win. Hopefully for EK it's Stanley Cup > Loyalty.

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

Really? They were a fortunate bounce away from going to the SC final this year, why couldn't they go all the way next year?

Next year:
Toronto likely converts some of those shootout or OT losses into wins.
Tampa Bay regroups
Buffalo might improve as well.

This was Ottawa's big chance, we missed out. Back to a dogfight in the East.