Erik Karlsson rips all Canadian teams in new interview

With the Pittsburgh Penguins descending into free fall after moving star Jake Guentzel at the trade deadline, the dynasty is coming to a harsh end. Despite the team getting another immaculate season from Crosby and trading for Erik Karlsson, the team is now staring a rebuild - leading to reports from Elliotte Friedman that Karlsson could get moved again. Friedman reported that the Ottawa Senators would be interested in a reunion, but Karlsson shut that down hard.

It seems then like Karlsson is emphatically shutting down any speculation of trade back to Ottawa, and potentially any Canadian team if he doesn't want to deal with passionate hockey fans and media.



Now 33 years old, Karlsson is signed for three more seasons after this one to a value of $10M for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Along with the rest of their ageing core, he'll have to decide whether he's willing to finish his career on a team that's tracking to miss the playoffs multiple years in a row - and it feels like they may be many years away from getting back.

The Senators seem bent on pursuing a reunion with Karlsson to bring back one of the franchise's greatest players now under the guidance of another legend in Daniel Alfredsson, but that desire seems one sided - Karlsson just isn't interested.