from Bruce Garrioch at the Ottawa Citizen,
Though the Senators received interest from several teams — including the Tampa Bay Lightning, Vegas Golden Knights, San Jose Sharks and Nashville Predators — nobody was willing to step up to the plate to acquire the 27-year-old Karlsson.
“We’re not going to hide the fact Erik Karlsson is a special player and he’s our franchise player,” Dorion said. “When I made it clear earlier in the year we weren’t very happy, multiple teams phoned about Erik and if a player of Erik Karlsson’s calibre was on the market, I’d be phoning and I’d probably be phoning every day.
“Erik is a franchise player and we felt there was no franchise deal out there that could satisfy us to make the best hockey deal.”
The Senators weren’t going to give Karlsson away and the indications are they wanted a big package in return which may have included five-to-six elements (first-round draft picks, legitimate NHL players and high-end prospects). That’s a difficult move for any contender to make.
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