Around the NHL: Karlsson, Seguin, Yzerman

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The talk of the entire offseason seemed to circle around Erik Karlsson and a potential trade. As NHL training camps are about to begin, Karlsson has finally been traded.

The trade dropped on Thursday afternoon, with Karlsson being sent to the San Jose Sharks. Forward prospect Francis Perron was also traded to San Jose. In return, the Ottawa Senators received forward Chris Tierney, defenseman Dylan DeMelo, prospects Josh Norris and Rudolfs Balcers as well as a conditional first-round pick in 2020 or 2021 and a conditional second-round pick in 2019 or 2020 for their now former captain.

For the Senators, it starts off a full-blown rebuild. The team already dealt Mike Hoffman in the offseason. For the Sharks, it makes them bigger contenders in the Western Conference. With Brent Burns on the blue line with Karlsson, it gives them an incredible duo to headline the defensive group.

The Flyers host the San Jose Sharks in their home opener on Oct. 9 at Wells Fargo Center. The next night, they travel to Ottawa to face the Senators.

Seguin Re-Signs with Dallas

Karlsson was the hot commodity on the trade market. John Tavares was the prize of free agency. With the way the Tavares sweepstakes captivated the hockey community, it created a buzz as to whether other pending star players headed for free agency would use a similar tactic.

Not Tyler Seguin. Seguin, who was set to become a free agent in July 2019, re-signed with the Dallas Stars, inking an eight-year deal with a $9.85 million AAV. Seguin has scored 173 goals and has 384 points in 387 games in Dallas. Last season, Seguin set a career-high with 40 goals.

Yzerman Steps Down as Lightning GM

Some unexpected news came out on Tuesday as Tampa Bay Lightning GM Steve Yzerman announced he was stepping down from the role. He is moving into a new role as senior advisor to the GM. Tampa’s new GM is Julien BriseBois, who served as an assistant GM under Yzerman. Yzerman had been in the GM role in Tampa Bay since 2010.

Yzerman has built the Lightning into a Stanley Cup contender over the years with names like Nikita Kucherov, Andrei Vasilevskiy, Victor Hedman, Brayden Point and Steven Stamkos. The expectations remain the same for the Lightning, who reached Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final last season before losing to Washington. Yzerman was also a finalist for GM of the Year at the NHL Awards in June. The Lightning also reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2015 under Yzerman, losing to the Chicago Blackhawks in six games.

Speculation is that Yzerman is stepping down to eventually take a position with the Detroit Red Wings, where he is immortalized as a player. Yzerman’s family still lives in Detroit and the Red Wings as a franchise are into a rebuild. Yzerman said Tuesday that he is fully committed to the Lightning this season.