Sens Underground Forums > Karlsson leaves for Europe
did he leave because the sens /didn't sign him or did he just not want to sign with the organization?
Raging Russell
I can't imagine why the sens wouldn't sign him given the fact that other than erik karlsson, he is/was our only good defensive prospect. My guess is he didn't like that our defense is so crowded that he won't get playing time on the big club.
Racinette
As well, he and his wife are welcoming a newborn into the world, and considering that this is not their native land, and that they would not have any family here, and that Karlsson would not know where he would be, Ottawa or Binghamton, you have to think that that might have played into the decision.
SENShobo
A lot of these players don't want to waste away in the AHL riding buses to games, its hard to sell them that whole 'adapting the the North American game' shtick.
Lego
Yeah because trading Spezza to help Bingo is exactly what Murray wants to be doing. If Murray doesn't get the Senators into AT LEAST the playoffs he's out of a job.
The Apostle
How good of a prospect was this guy if he couldn't beat out Brendan Bell for time in Ottawa or any of the other supposedly
weak defensemen in Ottawa this past year.
Is this a big loss, I'm asking SensHobo and pucknut since you two know a lot more about guys in Bingo than anyone else here.
If it is, it's a big indictment on Murray's managerial skills cause this guy if he can play would be inexpensive next year.
tjlincoln
UKSen - Good point. Trading Spezza would save Ottawa in the long term, but not Murray in the short term.
Bell was called up first because he started the season red hot. Once there he fell into the waiver trap. If Ottawa tried sending him back down they risked losing him. Then it became a question of calling up Lee or Karlsson. Lee improved his physical play and is a bigger prospect so he always got the call.
I don't know if this is typical for all farm teams, but we've had a lot of trouble getting foreign prospects to stay. Zubov has been the exception, which is unfortunate given his 2nd half disappearing acts. Nikulin demanded a trade and stuck it out in the AHL with another franchise.
What surprised me with Karlsson was how soon it happened. He could've waited to see what would happen to Ottawa's roster. It would seem logical that if he wanted a shot with Ottawa he would've waited until the last minute to see if Ottawa dealt any blueliners, failed to sign Bell, etc. Either Ottawa told them they weren't interested or he gave the organization the bird.
pucknut
Karlsson can coun't just like the rest of us. He would have looked at the roster and seen Phillips, Volchenkov, Kuba, Picard, Smith, Campoli Bell and Lee and if he looks ahead he can see Erik Karlsson, Patrick Wiercoch and a possible first round pick in the system. I'm guessing he figured that unless there were a series of big changes in Ottawa in the next five months he wasn't going to make the roster anyway and left to play at a decent level and you can't really blame him for that.
I only saw him a couple of times for Bingo and i know he was voted an AHL all-star but he looked quite ponderous in the games I saw him and I wasn't at all convinced that his skill set and skill level would have made a difference to the big club.
I also think that given how bad we were at the start he benefited from the fact that he wasn't here, people seemed to believe that he must be better than what was up here simply because what was here was so bad - it doesn't work like that.
The Apostle
AHL All-Star/All-Rookie defenseman Mattias Karlsson wasted no time getting out of North America. Karlsson signed a 2 year deal with Timka in Sweden. Karlsson led Binghamton defenseman with 51 points in 73 games.
I am deeply concerned with this trend of players fleeing the Ottawa system and Ottawa being unable to sign quality free agents. I expect very little this offseason unless it comes via trade. Murray really needs to deal Spezza to try and right this ship.