Ottawa Senators lock Erik Karlsson with 7-year, $45.5 million deal -NHL offseason Update
Ottawa Senators finally made the much anticipated move official by re-signing superstar defenseman and Norris Trophy finalist, Erik Karlsson, to a seven-year contract worth $45.5 million on Tuesday, June 19, 2012.
For Karlsson, being picked as the National Hockey League’s (NHL) top defenseman later on in the upcoming awards on Wednesday will definitely be the cherry on top of it all and was definitely happy with the deal.
"I'm very happy," Karlsson said from Las Vegas before the annual NHL Awards. "All the discussions we've had have been good discussions. It's been fair, no backstabbing or anything like that. We have a lot of respect for Ottawa's organization.”
According to his contract, Karlsson will have a salary cap hit of $6.5 million annually, a major boost from his previous entry-level contract which was worth a maximum of $1.3 million a year.
With this huge boost, Ottawa Senators and fans will certainly be having more expectations vested in the player now. The Canadian franchise will require him to be a leading player and role model for others, something he is more than willing to do.
"It's going to be higher expectations from everyone, especially from you guys [the media]," Karlsson added. "That's the way it is. It's something that I know about. It's not something that has snuck up on me. I know how it is and I know how it works. I'm
going to try to play my best every night. It's all I can do.”
Erik Karlsson was picked up as the 15th overall player during round-one of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by Ottawa Senators and has had three amazing and constantly improving seasons.
He had just 26 points (5 goals, 21 assists) in his first career year but showed a huge improvement last time around with 78 points (19 goals, 59 assists) in 81 games played.
For the Ottawa Senators, this had been one of their top most priority things to do over the offseason and with it finally taken care of, the remaining to-do items on their list can be given some time now.
Next season will certainly be big for Ottawa and with players like Erik Karlsson secure for years to come, Senators can expect to make it big.
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