It's scorched earth here in Ottawa... Usually the team that gets the best player in the deal wins the deal. There was no way for Ottawa to win this deal. Melnyk sketched it out last year, he was not willing to pay Karlsson north of 10M per season and Dorien was in a bad spot, especially with a mandate not to trade him to an eastern conference team. I am surprised that he went back to San Jose after getting burned in the Hoffman deal earlier this summer.
As bad as this deal might seem on the surface, Ottawa is not trying to win now, allegedly they have a 5 year play which would coincide with them being a cup contender when they move in the new arena. They are stockpiling their system with picks, they are slashing payroll to the cap floor and more moves are coming. Maybe they could have gotten a better player in dealing with Dallas or Tampa but it wouldn't have been as deep a bounty that they are getting here.
Obviously, it's not a good deal for the franchise right now, but Karlsson was never going to be re-signed here, be it because the club couldn't afford it or because he wanted to win and the club was not going to win any time soon. Why pay someone 10M+ a season for a few years when you're a cost cutting side if you're going to struggle to even smell the playoffs?
My opinion is personal and not shaped by listening to the experts. I knew this deal was coming and it was a difficult deal for Ottawa to make given all their self imposed constraints. When you factor all of that in, it was about as good as they could have gotten. That's why I consider it good.
Ottawa will struggle to get 10k through the turnstiles for midweek games this season. People are just angry right now, understandably so and they will vote with their wallets for a long time.
Expect Duchesne to be next out the door if he doesn't buy in for the long haul, but that's still up in the air, he apparently really enjoys playing here. Stone will be here, they are trying to sign him, but if that doesn't work out he'll bring in a decent haul at the deadline.
Sens camp should be fun to follow, lots of jobs up for grabs.
Circle this for the long haul: TT OVER for their opponents, each and every night this season: Chabot, DeMelo, Ceci,Harpur, Borowiecki, Wideman is their back line.