Thanks to the decision to keep this year’s pick or risk sending an even better first-rounder to the Colorado Avalanche in 2019,* the looming draft weekend was already going to present the Ottawa Senators with tough questions.
Now GM Pierre Dorion probably dreams about things being that simple.
PHT’s Adam Gretz covered the strange situation between Mike Hoffman, his fiancé Monika Caryk, Erik Karlsson, and his wife Melinda Karlsson earlier this week.
First, a summary of the statements and accusations regarding cyber-bullying:
Melinda Karlsson filed a protection order alleging that Caryk underwent “a campaign of harassment that has plagued the Karlssons after the death of their son and through much of the last NHL season.”
Hoffman responded in a statement that “there is a 150 per cent chance that my fiancé Monika and I are not involved” in the cyber-bulling activities, which Karlsson alleged happened via “burner accounts” on Twitter and Instagram. (Gretz’s post delves deeper into that strange web of accusations.)
The Senators also put out a statement stating that they were “investigating the matter with the cooperation of the NHL.”
A more detailed response from Hoffman and Caryk
The Ottawa Citizen’s Bruce Garrioch conducted an exclusive interview with Hoffman and Caryk, which is worth your time to read in full.
In short, they took further measures to adamantly refuse involvement in the harassing messages.
Some interesting additional details surface as Caryk claimed that she first learned of the accusations late in the regular season (March 22), which eventually led to a discussion between Mike Hoffman and Erik Karlsson during a practice. Caryk says she received word from Taylor Winnik, wife of Daniel Winnik.
“I got a horrific email from a girl named Taylor Winnik, and I believe her husband plays in the NHL, saying that I’m a horrible and disgusting person, accusing me of writing negative stuff about the fact that Erik and Melinda lost their child,” Caryk said. “It’s all untrue. Just to state the facts. That was the first time that I was aware of any of this.”
If that’s not enough to get your head spinning, consider that the Ottawa Citizen’s Don Brennan reports that Melinda Karlsson “could be liable for defamation” if her claims are proven to be inaccurate.
It’s unclear what the next twists will be in that scandal. Either way, the Senators were already rumored to be shopping Hoffman (and possibly still looking to trade Karlsson), so this only heightens that need. Naturally, the Senators are unlikely to get full value for Hoffman thanks to this crisis.
What’s next?
Again, it’s fair to point out that the Senators were already in a position where it would make sense to trade both Karlsson and Hoffman even before this situation surfaced publicly.
Hoffman’s agent Robert Hooper told the Ottawa Citizen that he hopes the situation gets resolved quickly, but therein lies the challenge. With the investigation(s) ongoing, will a team be willing to deal with questions about the situation? If nothing else, a new team would want some assurance that the situation would be put behind Hoffman. They’d face the type of questions sports teams hate to deal with even if that’s so.
For what it’s worth, Garrioch reports that as many as 10 teams are interested in trading for Hoffman, with the Buffalo Sabres reportedly being in especially hot pursuit. He also reports that the New Jersey Devils, Vancouver Canucks and Arizona Coyotes are joined by several Central Division teams (Dallas Stars, St. Louis Blues, Minnesota Wild) as among those inquiring about the winger.
The Senators also must grapple with Karlsson’s future. Would he sign a contract extension, preferably during this summer, a time when the franchise is in desperate need for positive news? How much would Karlsson’s trade value sink if they had to move him, but he’d still want to pursue unrestricted free agency instead of signing a deal with his new team? Would the Senators keep him around for 2018-19 alone in part to save face and avoid giving the Avalanche a high-end draft pick as part of the Matt Duchene trade?
* - Garrioch reports that the Senators are expected to keep their 2018 first-rounder (fourth overall), which means they’d send their 2019 first-round pick to Colorado.
An awful time; Lee update
A lousy follow-up to a run within one overtime goal of the 2017 Stanley Cup Final now feels more like a minor setback for the Senators, considering all the toxic news surrounding the organization.
In early June, assistant GM Randy Lee received second-degree harassment charges. Moments ago, the Senators announced that Lee has been suspended. Here’s an excerpt from their statement (read it in full here):
That said, the questions that must be answered by Randy are unlikely to be addressed until his next court date - on July 6, 2018 - we believe the best way to live our values and enforce our standards of behavior is to suspend Randy Lee until the allegations against him are ruled upon by the courts.
Less than two weeks later, this long-brewing issue between Caryk and Karlsson prompted the filing of that protection order. The Senators now have little choice but to trade Hoffman, and might be wise to move Karlsson.
(One also cannot ignore the tragic passing of former GM Bryan Murray on Aug. 12, 2017.)
Those major events were the most jarring, yet it’s really staggering to consider the mass of other negative developments, some of which stand as unforced errors.
After leaving a gig in the front office, Senators icon Daniel Alfredsson expressed a hope many fans have expressed: Eugene Melnyk no longer being the team’s owner. Many of those fans put up a “Snow Must Go"-like billboard calling for Melnyk to do just that.
Following that brutal 2017-18 campaign, Dorion kept embattled head coach Guy Boucher around, yet he also threw him under the bus and essentially acknowledged that Boucher is on thin ice.
Things only get odder and worse the deeper you dig on this team. Just about anyone can see that this has been a disastrous year or so for the Senators, though.
It’s difficult to believe that Karlsson set up Hoffman for a beautiful goal only about a year ago.
James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.