Karlsson's Taking His Two Norris Trophies to San José

It's a monumental achievement for a sports owner to be more vilified that the New York Rangers' and Knicks' James Dolan -- the industry's gold standard -- so full marks to the Ottawa Senators' Eugene Melnyk.

It's not easy to alienate a fan base in hockey-mad Canada to the point that they're becoming ambivalent to the prospect that their team might move, but Melnyk's done it.

OG can't even announce a roster rebuild right.

 

Now, by trading the Sens' heart and soul, Melnyk just tossed a lighted match into it.

The San José Sharks have gotta be pinching themselves, giving up third-line center Chris Tierney and a buncha dudes named Moe for all-everything blueliner Eric Karlsson.

 

Clearly, the reason was money. The slick Swede has only a year remaining on his contract.

It can easily be argued that Ottawa was gonna need a Golden Knights kinda season to make the playoffs this season and probably next.

But at least Karlsson was a draw for the great number of Senators fans who appreciated the finer details of a player's skills.

 

The Pacific Division hosted a veritable dogfight among quality teams last season, so the Sharks adding one of the league's best defensemen is a blockbuster deal, indeed.

 

As with everyone else out West, the Los Angeles Kings are aware of what San José just did.

 

 

Basically.