Any Karlsson thread always attracts so many haters.

That's how you know a guy is one of the best.
- TommyDeVito

On the contrary, I think every rational person in here would LOVE to have Karlsson on their team.

in 11-12 when we were discussing who we would want to start a team with I said Karlsson.

What I find amusing is that Sens fans seem to just say "he had a tough year" and point out how his defense was good the year before.

... well Dion Phaneuf was like +26 or something on a team every bit as bad as Ottawa... until the Leafs goalies came down to earth. It is entirely possible that Karlsson defensive game was exposed this year when your goaltending came down to earth also.

You don't have to be a hater to try to make an honest assessment. He islike a 4th forward that was a valid criticism, this year.

meh. cant have much issue with the 3 they chose.

karlsson's still elite but struggled defensively abit. he'll get plenty of nods over the course of his career.
Giordano and suter musta been close too

Yes Travis, Ottawa should get Green for the 2nd pair.

Wait, what was the question?

Any Karlsson thread always attracts so many haters.

That's how you know a guy is one of the best.
- TommyDeVito

By this logic, Subban is the bestest ever.



Karlsson is great and his relative difficulties owe much to recovering from injury (same happened with Markov in Montreal last year--still good, but was better this year with more recovery time).

I think an ideal (though unobtainable) partner for Karlsson would be Vlasic. Closest match to that is what Ottawa should aim for (though I'll be happy if that's an impossible find--sorry ).

Karlsson plays at the defense position, but he is no defenseman. The few games I saw him play this year, he looked positively lost in his own end if the puck wasn't on his stick. An offensively gifted winger is his best position. He is Kessel 2.0, but he plays D.

By this logic, Subban is the bestest ever.



Karlsson is great and his relative difficulties owe much to recovering from injury (same happened with Markov in Montreal last year--still good, but was better this year with more recovery time).

I think an ideal (though unobtainable) partner for Karlsson would be Vlasic. Closest match to that is what Ottawa should aim for (though I'll be happy if that's an impossible find--sorry ).
- Ovation

i agree with this.....but i also think a lot of the mistakes he makes, similar to subban, just stem from the fact that they're both still very young an inexperienced.

it's a rare thing to see a 23 year old d-man, who excels in their own end. i think you could probably count the number of them currently in the league on one hand. the defensive side of the game is something that needs to be learned and developed. i have no doubt that by the time he's the same age as guys like keith and weber, karlsson's defensive game will be fine (same with subban).

as for a partner like vlasic.....that would be ideal. kind of makes me wonder if van is really gonna clean house, maybe a guy like hamhuis would become available. he'd be a real good partner for karlsson too.

Karlsson plays at the defense position, but he is no defenseman. The few games I saw him play this year, he looked positively lost in his own end if the puck wasn't on his stick. An offensively gifted winger is his best position. He is Kessel 2.0, but he plays D.
- rynoisgod

that is literally the stupidest thing i've ever read.......and if that's how you feel, then it's pretty obvious that you didn't watch "a few games", you probably saw a couple of highlight packages from a few games.

I'd like to chime in on the Green discussion. He had a phenomenal seasons in 08/09 and 09/10. It was about equal to what Karlsson does in terms of impressive offensive ability from the blue line. Green had one of the more feared shots in the league in those two seasons. I don't think Karlsson has a dynamic of a shot, but better puck handling and vision on the ice. Green's production has certainly come down a notch so he isn't really worth discussing at the present time. However, he should get accolades for his two impressive seasons.

Focussing back on Karlsson, he put up fine numbers this year, but his overall game was less than impressive as a whole. A lot of nights he was simply mailing it in. Several factors probably played a role in that, but next season he should be ready to go. I think calling him a glorified 4th forward is a little much. He generates his offence from the offensive blue line both 5 on 5 and the PP. He also starts plays from his own end. These are tools all good offensive defencemen use, not forwards. His play in his own end wasn't much to brag about and goes back to what I was saying about mailing it in. However, at the same time, Ottawa had worse guys back there and so do a lot of other teams.

He, like the rest of the team, did not have a great season. Next season is hopefully a clean slate without any big distractions for the team and Karlsson and company will be more ready to go. At the end of the day, we have a great d-man who 29 other teams would love to have. There is no debate there.

that is literally the stupidest thing i've ever read.......and if that's how you feel, then it's pretty obvious that you didn't watch "a few games", you probably saw a couple of highlight packages from a few games.
- sensarmy_11

Probably watched the game against boston I remember watching, think you guys lost 6-1? Or something anyway Karlsson looked terrible that game as did every Sen and Bam. He now has an expert opinion and leave Kessel out of this!

Any Karlsson thread always attracts so many haters.

That's how you know a guy is one of the best.
- TommyDeVito

Just like Subban

Also, love the people who use Stanley Cups to measure how good individual players are. Maybe when Karlson wins a couple of cups he can finally be considerred a more valuable player than Chris Draper.

Karlsson plays at the defense position, but he is no defenseman. The few games I saw him play this year, he looked positively lost in his own end if the puck wasn't on his stick. An offensively gifted winger is his best position. He is Kessel 2.0, but he plays D.
- rynoisgod

and you would love nothing more the having Chara - Karlsson


don't lie

duncan keith best 2 way dman in the league. you east coast writers/fans must not watch the hawks very much bc he impacts the game every shift every night and his stats dont lie. Among Dmen: 2nd in points, 1st in assists, 9th in +/-
Karlsson: 1st in points, 2nd in assists, 283rd in +/-

Karlsson is a glorified 4th forward while Duncan Keith plays 200ft of elite hockey. karlsson is duncan keith minus playing defense.
- EnzoD

Funny that your description of the difference between the best 2 way dman in the league and a glorified 4th forward is the only +/-
god forbid Keith never has a minus season, oh wait hes had 2... and one where he broke evem, i guess those 3 years he wasnt a legit dman right?

Just like Subban

Also, love the people who use Stanley Cups to measure how good individual players are. Maybe when Karlson wins a couple of cups he can finally be considerred a more valuable player than Chris Draper.
- BeanCountingHab

aaron ward has 3 rings.....clearly better than keith, chara, bourque, doughty, weber, karlsson, etc.

one of the best ever.

On the contrary, I think every rational person in here would LOVE to have Karlsson on their team.

in 11-12 when we were discussing who we would want to start a team with I said Karlsson.

What I find amusing is that Sens fans seem to just say "he had a tough year" and point out how his defense was good the year before.

... well Dion Phaneuf was like +26 or something on a team every bit as bad as Ottawa... until the Leafs goalies came down to earth. It is entirely possible that Karlsson defensive game was exposed this year when your goaltending came down to earth also.You don't have to be a hater to try to make an honest assessment. He islike a 4th forward that was a valid criticism, this year.
- Aetherial

Actually, the year (2 years ago) Karlsson won the Norris and was very good defensively as well as offensively, goaltending was normal... It's last year that the Sens goaltending (all 3 goalies) were unbelievable and every self-respected Sens fan knew it would come back to earth this year! ...We just didn't think it would fall back down to earth and then continue down to Hell!!!