Senators’ negotiations with Erik Karlsson merit monitoring

Even over the course of a summer in which a new CBA will be negotiated, there’s little doubt that a relatively small pool of puck-moving defensemen who may test the open market—including Nashville’s Ryan Suter, Philadelphia’s Matt Carle, Florida’s Jay Garrison and a player whose playoff performance is significantly damaging his value in Washington’s Dennis Wideman—can and should expect to receive significant raises over the course of contracts which will probably challenge whatever parameters of any restrictions on “lifetime” deals. As the UFA pool is so shallow, however, the statuses of two elite restricted free agent defensemen in Nashville captain Shea Weber and Ottawa Senators defenseman and Norris Trophy finalist Erik Karlsson bear watching closely, and the Ottawa Sun’s rumor-friendly Bruce Garrioch reports that Karlsson’s contract negotiations may be drawn-out (and it is worth noting that Karlsson’s too young to file for arbitration, which would ward off any RFA offer sheets):