New Jersey Devils: Erik Karlsson Rumors Going Wild Again
By Nick Villano
The New Jersey Devils have been tied to the biggest piece on the trade market for a long time. Could the Ottawa Senators really send Erik Karlsson to the Devils, or is this a smoke screen?
Here we go again. The New Jersey Devils and Ottawa Senators have been tied to each other once again, and the target is the same. Erik Karlsson is reportedly available, and after the Devils made a move to bring Michael Grabner to add to the forward group, GM Ray Shero is reportedly not done.
It’s all speculation at this point, but multiple reliable and not-so-reliable sources claim that the Devils and the Senators make sense as trading partners.
I think this all started a few days ago, when ESPN’s Greg Wyshynski threw the Devils name out there as a team that made sense. He makes a lot of good points. The Devils can easily take on Bobby Ryan’s contract, which many say is a must to make this deal happen. The contract is bad, but there’s clearly something not right with him and Ottawa. Ryan was a perennial 30 goal scorer during his time with the Anaheim Ducks. He immediately fell off as soon as he went to the Great White North.
The Devils also have all of their first-round picks, so losing one in this deal won’t ruin their future.
Prospects in the Devils system can really make a difference in Ottawa, some that can help now and some that can help next year. There’s players like John Quenneville and Blake Coleman who can insert themselves in the lineup tomorrow, and others like Jesper Boqvist and Michael McLeod that can change the future for a franchise as a contributor in the near future.
On top of all that, the Devils have two young, NHL-ready defensemen they could use in a package. Damon Severson is 23 years old and Steve Santini is 22. Both have immense upside, while working through the growing pains of becoming an NHL defenseman. They would both be desirable for the new look Senators.
So that’s caused people on Twitter to make moves themselves.
https://twitter.com/incarceratedbob/status/967202243345895424
Here’s the thing, when Shero made a move for Grabner, nobody saw it coming. When he made a move for Sami Vatanen on November 30th, nobody saw it coming. When he traded Adam Larsson for Taylor Hall one for one, nobody saw it coming. You’re catching my drift. Shero does not let these rumors leak.
Also, the one who started these rumors is a Devils fan. Wyshynski said in the article he didn’t want to be a homer, he was just connecting the dots.
Does that mean the Devils aren’t in on Karlsson? Absolutely not.
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These rumors are what makes hockey so fun. In fact, it’s what makes sports fun. For example, I have a lot of trouble watching a basketball game from tip to buzzer. However, when Blake Griffin was traded I listened to every podcast and read every article I could get my hands on.
The point is, hearing about the Devils ties to the best defenseman in the league has us dreaming of contention. It has Devils fans thinking of the good ole days of Stanley Cups and deep playoff runs. This deal could put the last five seasons behind us immediately.
I’m not going to speculate what it will cost to make this trade work. I will let the fans send me their trade proposals, because that’s more fun right now. I will just sit back and wait until Monday, and just see what happens.