Erik Karlsson named Ottawa Senators captain
Erik Karlsson has been named the newest Ottawa Senators captain. He replaces Jason Spezza, who was traded in the offseason.
By
Chris Peters
•
1 min read
After announcing that the club had re-signed top forward Bobby Ryan to a long-term extension, the Ottawa Senators also revealed that veteran defenseman Erik Karlsson has been named the team’s new captain.
Karlsson follows in the footsteps of fellow Swede Daniel Alfredsson and more recently-departed captain Jason Spezza. Though the last two guys left under rather unceremonious circumstances, Karlsson is under contract for the next five years and is by far the team’s best player even though he’s now no longer its highest-paid.
The 2011-12 Norris Trophy winner has become the NHL’s elite offensive defenseman. In 315 career games, all with Ottawa, Karlsson has 237 points.
He led the team in scoring last season with 74 points and notched 20 goals for the first time in his career. He had 78 points in his Norris Trophy season.
Though his defensive game can be suspect, Karlsson has the ability to take things over offensively. His best defense is helping his team control the puck. Karlsson can control the pace of the game all on his own sometimes and remains one of the game’s most highly-skilled and exciting players.
Karlsson, 24, has not worn a letter on his jersey in the past, so he leapfrogged more recent alternates Chris Neil and Chris Phillips. There’s no question that he is the franchise player though and will be the face of the Senators going forward.
