The Daily: Karlsson To Ottawa This Summer?; Ekblad Out

With the Pittsburgh Penguins in Ottawa tonight to face the Senators, the timing is perfect to discuss the possibility of the Penguins moving Erik Karlsson to Ottawa this summer.

Sportsnet hockey insider Elliotte Friedman discussed it on his 32 Thoughts podcast Monday.

It could make sense for both the Penguins and Senators, depending upon the details. The Penguins need cap space. Shedding some, or all, of Karlsson’s $10 million cap hit for the next three years would help. The Senators need to become competitive again and Karlsson can still have impact. Plus, he started his career in Ottawa and fans loved him when he was there.

Bring Erik Karlsson home.

— Marc Methot (@MarcMethot3) March 11, 2024

“It’s not going to be an easy one to move, it definitely isn’t,” Friedman said on his 32 Thoughts Podcast. “There is going to be a lot of focus on Ottawa. If there’s one team that you would think would consider it, it would be them with Daniel Alfredsson.”

The other question in play for this transaction to occur is whether the Penguins truly want to move Karlsson. GM Kyle Dubas has said the organization does consider him one of core players along with Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin.

Red Wings In Case You Missed It

• A Red Wings prospect made the move of a lifetime to score a goal in an Ontario Hockey League game recently.
• Everyone has their fingerprints on Detroit’s five-game losing streak. Lucas Raymond is minus-eight. Moritz Seider is minus-7. J.T. Compher has been a minus player in all five games.
• Bob Duff writes that the Red Wings still have work to do at the center position. With Dylan Larkin sidelined by injury, their offense has lost their spark.
• Forget about playing better, the Red Wings just need to find a way to win. It’s critical the team earns a win tonight against the Buffalo Sabres to stop the bleeding.

Red Wings Next Game

Michael Rasmussen practiced Monday, which means he likely will be ready to play tonight against the Buffalo Sabres. He left Saturday’s game in Vegas with an undisclosed injury.  Alex Lyon should be back in goal for the Red Wings who are trying to halt a five-game losing streak. The Sabres did beat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 in a shootout, but have lost three of their last four.

Hockey Now Network

Florida: The Florida Panthers will be without defenseman Aaron Ekblad for at least two weeks because of a knee injury.

Montreal: Marc Dumont explores the fact that the Montreal Canadiens will have more than $17 million in available cap space this offseason. They also have 12 picks in 2024 NHL draft.

Nashville: Clay Brewer explains how a potential Ryan Johansen buyout in Philadelphia would impact the Nashville Predators.

Philadelphia: The Johansen situation with the Philadelphia Flyers organization is complicated by an injury and Johansen’s past relationship with coach John Tortorella.

San Jose: Tomas Hertl explains why he chose to leave the San Jose Sharks to go to Vegas.