Less than a year after he spearheaded the Ottawa Senators' improbable run to the Eastern Conference Finals, Erik Karlsson is enduring his final days as a member of the team. Or at least that's what TSN's Travis Yost suggested in a report via Twitter on Friday, when he said "there is no belief that Erik Karlsson can be retained in Ottawa long-term" and that "the situation has become binary -- a trade here, or a trade in June."

Karlsson, the 27-year-old All-Star defenseman, has long been speculated as maybe the biggest name available ahead of Monday's NHL trade deadline, but now, it appears the consensus is even more so expecting a move.

The veteran's teammates have openly lamented about the Senators' current state, what with all but the entire roster in "trade purgatory." And that state is essentially a direct byproduct of the team's sharp decline from 2016-17, when they almost upset the defending Stanley Cup champions. As of Friday, the Senators had won just 21 of their first 39 games -- good enough for third-worst in the entire league.

It's no surprise, then, that Karlsson could finally be dealt. For one, Ottawa could use all the reinforcements it can get. And Karlsson himself, a two-time Norris Memorial Trophy winner as the game's top defenseman, figures to be OK with heading to greener pastures at this point in his career. The blue-line scoring stud hasn't exactly shied away from trade speculation, either, if stories from Ottawa are to be believed: