from Ken Warren of the Ottawa Citizen,
Will the two-time Norris Trophy winner as the National Hockey League’s top defenceman stay or will he be gone before the puck drops at Canadian Tire Centre again in October?
Karlsson has one year and $6.5 million remaining on his existing contract. Senators general manager Pierre Dorion has said the Senators will offer him a contract extension on July 1.
However, will Melnyk open up his wallet to pay Karlsson $80 million-$100 million on an eight-year extension to keep him here? If the cash doesn’t come here, Karlsson will receive $10 million-$12 million per season somewhere else.
Even if that contract is on the table — the Senators are also facing tricky summer negotiations with star forwards Mark Stone and Matt Duchene — will Karlsson, who turns 28 in May, buy into the planned re-tooling process that will be built around younger prospects? Moving to a big market team that spends to the NHL’s salary cap maximum could give Karlsson a faster track toward the ultimate goal of winning the Stanley Cup.
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