Erik Karlsson, the Senators’ first sound investment in ages?

Two stories from the Globe and Mail merit mentioning this evening: the Globe and Mail’s James Mirtle penned a fantastic profile of top prospect Alex Galchenyuk, but Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award honoree Roy MacGregor steals billing from Mirtle by offering a meander about the Ottawa Senators’ decision to sign Erik Karlsson to a massive, big-money contract that recalls the team’s mistakes made with, well, I’ll let him tell the story:

It took 20 years, but maybe, just maybe, the Ottawa Senators got one right this time. Big contracts have not had a happy life in the nation’s capital. From Alexandre Daigle through Alexei Yashin, Wade Redden, Dany Heatley and Alexei Kovalev, enough money has been squandered in Ottawa over the lifetime of the Senators to balance the federal budget and give every voting citizen his and her matching F-35 fighter jets.

This week in Las Vegas, the Senators announced – to some surprise – that electrifying defenceman Erik Karlsson has been signed by general manager Bryan Murray to a seven-year, $45.5-million (U.S.) deal that should keep the young Swede in an Ottawa uniform until 2019. Karlsson has already proved that he’s good – only 22 and a finalist for the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s top defender – and if also he proves faithful, something that doesn’t always happen in Ottawa, it could be the contract upon which the franchise will rest comfortably over the next several years.

“It’s seven years,” the slick puck-handler told reporters. “It’s a big commitment on their side and I’m very pleased they were able to do that. It really shows they believe in what I do and they want me to be a big part of this organization.”

The rest of MacGregor’s story is worth your time...

Source: http://www.kuklaskorner.com/index.php/hockey/comments/erik_karlsson_the_senators_first_sound_investment_in_ages/

Pikka Rinne Mathieu Carle Lars Eller Hal Gill John Madden Petr Kalus