Colorado Avalanche Could End up with 4th-Overall in the 2018 Draft

Embed from Getty Images

The Colorado Avalanche could end up with the Ottawa Senators’ fourth-overall draft pick this year. It all depends on how much gambling Ottawa is willing to do.

The Colorado Avalanche were not as bad as their 48-point 2016-17 season. They had a couple bumps in the road that sent them into a spiral, but the core of talent was always there.

The Ottawa Senators were not as bad as their nose-dive 2017-18 season, which saw them go from Stanley Cup contenders to front runners in the Rasmus Dahlin Sweepstakes — which they proceeded to lose. The core of talent was there — they just suffered too many distractions.

Here’s the thing, the distractions that caused the Senators to tank aren’t going away like the bumps in the road that the Avs were able to get over. Instead, they’re getting worse.

And that could result in the Colorado Avalanche getting Ottawa’s fourth-overall in the 2018 NHL Draft.

Embed from Getty Images

Brief Overview of Ottawa’s “Distractions”

The distractions are so bad for the Senators that publications such as the Sporting News are calling the franchise “dysfunctional.” It all starts with the owner, Eugene Melnyk. He seems to have lost his mind, or is so delusional about his power as a rich team owner that he can’t see the destruction he’s creating.

Melnyk, who’s owned the team since 2003, has just this year threatened to relocate the team. He blamed the Ottawa fans for essentially not being good enough and not filling the arena for Sens games. His remarks came out just as the Senators were participating in their biggest event of the year — the 2017 Heritage Classic Outdoor Game between Ottawa and the Montreal Canadiens.

He’s also been guilty of an adversarial relationship with the face of the franchise, their best player and most popular star — Erik Karlsson. The star fueled the rumors by stating he wouldn’t be taking any hometown discounts “no matter where I’m going” — thus indicating he was considering leaving.

Fans got so frustrated with Eugene Melnyk, they started a #MelnykOut campaign first on Twitter and then on billboards across Ottawa.

Melnyk was but a minor player in the next couple “distractions.” Senators assistant general manager Randy Lee was arrested while attending the NHL Scouting Combine, being accused of making lewd comments and unwanted advances toward a 19-year-old male hotel shuttle driver. The Senators took no action to mitigate this PR nightmare, though Melnyk did hire celebrity defense lawyer Paul J. Cambria of Sacramento, California.

Toward the end of the season, Karlsson and his wife, Melinda, suffered a heartbreaking loss  — their son was stillborn. That’s bad enough, but what has come out recently makes the situation worse. The Karlssons received negative and derogatory statements about the death as well as threats to Erik’s body vis-a-vis his playing. New evidence shows the culprit may be Monika Caryk, longtime girlfriend and current fiancee of Erik’s teammate, Mike Hoffman.

Awkward.

Here’s where things get a little gossipy but also the reason these distractions aren’t going away. Player wives and girlfriends came out in overwhelming support for the Karlssons, leading credence to the idea that it was Hoffman’s fiancee who targeted the couple with cyber-bullying. They stated there’s no way Caryk will be welcome in the team family rooms.

Hoffman was Ottawa’s third-leading scorer last season. Karlsson was their second. This awkward situation means the Senators might have to trade one or both. Indeed, the latest rumor is that Karlsson has formally requested a trade.

Who could blame him? He’s been called out by the team owner, has horrible memories associated with the season, and can’t even rely on his team brotherhood since it housed a viper.

Losing Karlsson and/or Hoffman erodes the core of talent the Senators boasted. Plus, they still have that cantankerous owner creating a toxic environment. And the Randy Lee distraction casts a shadow over the whole organization.

In other words, the 2018-19 Ottawa Senators could be even worse than this last season when they finished #30. They can expect to be firmly in the Jack Hughes Sweepstakes for the 2019 NHL Draft.

But if they don’t give the Colorado Avalanche their fourth-overall this season, the Sens must give them their first-rounder next season to complete the Matt Duchene trade. And that first-rounder could turn out to be a first-overall.