freelancer

Edmonton • Canada • 25 Years Old • Male

Obligatory Karlsson To Edmonton Blog

Discussing a potential Karlsson trade is easy low hanging fruit as far as writing topics go however it is also a nice change from the current state of affairs in Oil City.

Let me first state that I think Ottawa would be absolutely bonkers to trade Karlsson. Trading Karlsson should go in the same category as Crosby and McDavid; almost no return will equal the generational talent you are giving up. I understand Ottawa has internal cap struggles. Move Phaneuf for peanuts if you have to, buy Bobby Ryan a yacht and an island to retire immediately because that will still be cheaper than the atrocity of a contract he has. That team should be doing everything in their power to keep Karlsson as a Senator.

Having said all that...

Of course the Oilers should make a pitch for Karlsson... as would 29 other teams and while Edmonton has some intriguing options I don't know if the two teams are ideal trading partners. Certainly the Sens would want to avoid moving Karlsson to another Eastern team so the Pacific Division Oilers makes sense. Though the Oilers have some good pieces to offer I do not believe they are the pieces needed.

Draisaitl and Klefbom are the two names that have come up and while both are skilled young players I'm not sure either helps out Ottawa. Draisaitl is a very skilled player and a 1st line centre on many teams; Ottawa included. However, if the issue of Karlsson signing in Ottawa is cap space, I find it unlikely they would trade him and take only to take on an 8.5 million dollar contract.

In that sense Klefbom makes more sense. While he has struggled more this year, Klefbom has shown he can be a top pairing player. Plus, his 4.17 million dollar a year contract certainly seems more in line with Ottawa's internal cap. The issues here are twofold:

-Klefbom is not Karlsson
-Klefbom is not a right shot

Then there is the issue on the Edmonton side. Let's say the Oilers trade Klefbom, two firsts (lottery protected) and Yamamoto for Karlsson and let's say Ottawa accepts. The Oilers would then have McDavid at 12.5 million, Draisaitl at 8.5 million and Karlsson likely over the 10 million dollar mark as well. Could it work? In theory yes, but over 30 million dollars locked up in 3 players means some big sacrifices at every other position.

Watching a multi Norris trophy winner skating along side and future multi Hart trophy winner for the next decade would certainly be worth the price of admission on any given night. Fantasizing about such a thing while fun, is sadly a pipe dream.

For now the Oilers will have to struggle through their backend deficiencies and in the summer Chiarelli or whoever is in charge at that point will have to look at a player not named Karlsson to stabilize the back end.

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