A lot of people have been talking about Ottawa’s Jason Spezza and his recent hot streak but we are forgetting about defenseman Erik Karlsson. Karlsson has been having a fantastic season so far. He has 10 goals and 43 assists so far this season for Ottawa.
He was Daniel Alfredsson’s first overall pick in the 2012 NHL All-Star draft and there is good reason for that. Erik Karlsson leads NHL defenseman with 53 points. There is a 13-point margin between him and the #2 ranked defenseman.
Karlsson has been improving each and every year. Last year he had 45 points and the year before he had 26 points. Erik Karlsson is developing into an exceptional NHL hockey player but it seems like he doesn’t get very much recognition for it. The NHL fans have definitely noticed since 585,000 of them voted him into the NHL All-Star Game.
With Karlsson’s entry level contract about to expire at the end of the season the Ottawa Senators should move fast and offer him an extension as soon as possible. He won’t last long without a contract. The question is how much are the Ottawa Senators willing to pay? A comparable contract extension would be that of Tampa Bay Lightning’s Victor Hedman who was given a 5 year extension worth approximately $20 million.
Most of the trade talk has been about Rick Nash as of late and we know that Eric Karlsson is likely to stay with Ottawa but there is always a chance he could get an offer that he can’t refuse. With Ottawa sitting comfortably in 7th place in the East they should be looking at tying up some loose ends in the contract department. They still have plenty of time but I would be signing Erik Karlsson as fast as possible because he is essential to the Ottawa Senators defense.
Here’s a look at why Erik Karlsson is so important to the Ottawa Senators.
