BREAKING : Craig Anderson has signed a 2 year, $9.5M contract extension that will kick in starting next season.
My views on Anderson are well known and not always agreed upon by the readership. I see him as an average to slightly above average starter, and he isn't getting any younger. He will be 37 when the contract kicks in, and it will count towards the cap for the duration as he is over 35 at the time of the signing.
Honestly, off all the contracts that are coming due in the next year or two, this one would have been the last I would have worried about, and something that could have been done during the season when he shows he still has enough left in the tank at his highest level.
This one worries me, but only time will tell.
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With less than a week until the puck drops for real, the clock is ticking on Erik Karlsson's ankle. There may be no player in the league that is more critical to his team's success than Karlsson, and the longer he is on the injured list, the chances of the team missing the playoffs is increased dramatically.
The Senators need their best player in the lineup if they are going to have success and be a playoff team. With #65, I think they are a top 3 seed in the Atlantic Division, but without him they aren't a playoff club.
The first month of the season sees a lot of winnable games, but without their captain it becomes a much tougher go.
The question is, how long can the Senators go without Karlsson and still reasonably hope to make the playoffs. Is it 5 games? 10? I don't think the margin for error extends much beyond the 10 game mark and that could be pushing it.
The Senators play 12 games in October, and as the saying goes you can't make the playoffs in the first month, but you can certainly put yourself out of the race that early. On the positive side, usually the Sens open with a rash of divisional games, but this year is different and they only play 3 games in their division (1 each with Toronto, Montreal and Detroit) in October, so there will be an opportunity for them to make up ground later on.
This year also provides another obstacle in the schedule, with that trip to Sweden to play the Avalanche. That additional travel and disruption to routine is going to create more challenges in the first quarter of the season.
There is still no timetable for his return as he has only skated a couple of times since the ankle surgery, but he has shown to be a quick healer and the ability to play with pain and discomfort. As long as there is no risk for further injury, having Karlsson at 75% is better than any other alternative solution in the Senators' lineup right now.
Tick tock.