(AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)Although the incidents came under much different circumstances and in a different season, the results are much the same. On January 1, 2011 at the New Years Day Winter Classic, Sidney Crosby was nailed by a blindside hit causing him to miss the rest of that season and then derailed much of his 2012 season.
During that time the NHL and its fans were forced to watch as the best player in the world sat in the press box time and time again with great uncertainty of when he would return.
In last night’s game between Crosby’s Pittsburgh Penguins and the Ottawa Senators, NHL fans were dealt another blow when Sens star defenceman Erik Karlsson had his achillies cut by a skate and is now sidelined indefinitely.
The devestating injury could not come at a worse time for the Senators who have already lost the club’s best forward Jason Spezza for much of the season. And while the injury to Karlsson obviously affects the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club the most, his absence will also be felt throughout the game by fans who will not be able to watch the player deemed by some recently to be the new ‘best player in the world.’
Coming off a remarkable season where he racked up 78 points en route to winning the Norris Trophy and joining a list of just two other players (Bobby Orr and Denis Potvin) who won the award under the age of 23, Karlsson was on track to again be highly considered for the award as he went into last night’s game leading the league in shots on goal as well as leading all NHL defencemen in goals with 6.
Apart from the eye-popping numbers, the 22-year-old Swede is simply a marvel to watch. Possessing an ability to control and dominate the game from the back-end that rivals the likes of Hall of Fame defencemen such as Nik Lidstrom, Ray Bourque, Paul Coffey and dare I say Bobby Orr, Karlsson is the type of player that even the most die-hard Toronto Maple Leafs fan would have to admit to enjoy watching. With his speed, puck control and intelligence, the beauty and ease in which Karlsson plays with often makes it look like he is a grown man competing among 10-year-olds as opposed to playing in the top hockey league in the world. While it is tough to commit to saying that he is the best player in the league with the likes of Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in the prime of their careers, saying that Karlsson is the best player to watch is certainly not at all hard to get on board with.
Early speculation is that he will miss the rest of the season and while that is terrible news for the Senators, their fans and of course Karlsson himself, the entire NHL suffered a big loss in last night’s game. When Crosby was out with his concussion problems, although there were still the other NHL stars to help fill his void, there was always the thought that something was missing in the back of your mind.
The 2012-2013 season will go on and will feature great moments from the league’s many stars, but the thought of #65 of the Ottawa Senators will unfortunately remain just that; a thought.
Let’s not overstate Karlsson’s skill or the relevance of the Senators to the NHL’s success. Outside of Ottawa and perhaps Sweden, few people will likely take note of Karlsson’s absence over the long-term. Ironically, the injury may actually be a blessing in disguise since it forces Sens fans to reacquaint themselves with reality: their team sucks and no one cares.
I deeply hope that was an attempt at humour from a Leafs fan trying to downplay a player from a rival team. If its not, how do you expect anyone to take you seriously as a writer when you say things like that? Turn on any sports network and you’ll hear their analysts saying the exact same thing I was getting at. Any time you lose a player like him its a blow to the game. ‘Real’ fans of hockey understand that. Your comment makes you come off as someone who is only a fan of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Humour and insight. Here’s a similar view from Sportsnet: http://wap.sportsnet.ca/fanfuel/2013/02/14/erik_karlsson_matt_cooke_nhl_trade_rumours/
Overblown comparison, overblown injury, overblown reaction.
Crosby’s injury falls into the “concussion epidemic” and arguably stands as its greatest example alongside Marc Savard and Chris Pronger. Karlsson’s injury, in contrast, was unfortunate and freak, but nothing that endangers the health of the league or players across the board. It’ll also force Senators management to re-evaluate the current strength of their team, especially considering the parallel loss of Spezza. Any “rea” hockey fan, and any “real” writer who isn’t afraid to speak the truth (and avoid reliance on gross exaggerations), would know this.
I never once compared which injury was more significant or impactful. Simply said they are similar in that fans lose the ability to watch one of the great players for a full season.
And how exactly does this make them re-evaluate their team? In no way shape or form does his injury benefit the team even in the slightest. Thats like saying Pittsburgh would have to re-evaluate their team if Crosby and Malkin went down. They can’t go out and try to change their team. They are simply injuries that they have to deal with this year. Are you basing what you are saying on that rediculous reply on the link you posted which basically said the Sens should blow up their roster to make up for the injuries? Thats the kind of thing Andy Frost used to reply to delusional Leafs call-ins by saying “sir, you’ve clearly been drinking tonight”
Spezza and Karlsson are done for the season while Alfie is likely to retire afterwards. Anderson is hot right now, but you have two solid young goalies behind him. Gonachar wants out and back to Pittsburgh. If you’re not going to make a serious push this season, sober or drunk, it might make sense to re-evaluate the team.
In short, this isn’t the type of loss or injury that’ll grip the hockey world for months or even seasons on end. It’ll likely be forgotten in a week’s time save for Senators fans who blame Matt Cooke and “really” sensitive “writers” who mistake disagreement for a personal affront. When Lupul (this season) and Reimer (last season) went down, many jokes were sent Leafs Nation’s way, but I don’t recall – and I certainly didn’t make – any calls of foul over the comments (I guess it’s okay to pick on the Leafs?). Learn to roll with the punches, kid.
Did you seriously just compare Lupul and Reimer to Karlsson? No need to even argue with you anymore unless you are gonna take the Leafs blinders off.
And I can assure you his injury will continue to be felt. Of course its not the end of the world and everyone moves on, but the disappointment of losing a player of like him will last. And yes it might come as a surprise to you, but his stature is a wee bit higher than Joffrey Lupul and James Reimer
Quite simply Karlsson is the best defensemen in the NHL period.
That’s neither over or understating his value. Last season he was a full 25 points ahead of the next highest scoring defenseman.
This season he was the leader scorer for defensmen and was tied with none other than Sidney Crosby. That’s why experts commented all night that he was one of the early candidates as the Norris and Hart trophy winner.
Love or hate the Senators this guy is exciting to watch every night.
The point was not that Lupul or Reimer put up similar stats, but that fanboys like yourself feel okay bashing the Leafs to your heart’s content, but the moment someone on the Sens is questioned, the world stops. See your highly biased column about the Leafs from last year. Karlsson is a great player, but he’s no Crosby, Orr, Potvin or Coffee. Such a comparison is baseless. I don’t get Greg’s point about Crosby either. He has 20 points in 14 games this season – Karlsson has 10 points in the same number of games – and if you’re talking about last season, Crosby missed a “fair bit” of time, which would make his, not Karlsson’s, points total all the more impressive. A better comparison for Karlsson is Mike Green. Both have put up comparable numbers through the early parts of their careers, and no one would really miss them other than the teams they represent. Crosby’s absence, in comparison, represented a loss to the whole sport – hockey’s best player and the NHL’s posterboy was almost lost.
Wasn’t aware I had a Leafs bashing article. All I did was post what ESPN posted and then pointed out the aspects I agreed and disagreed with, sorry if it hurt your little Leafs feelings.
Some of us are not just fans of one particular team and actually have the ability to take in an NHL viewpoint rather than a Leafs viewpoint. Your downgrading of Karlsson’s exceptional ability is irritating and painfully obvious that it comes from him playing for Ottawa.
To compare him to Mike Green is simply unbelievable. His points are impressive but they are hardly what makes him so good. Do you not watch to see how Karlsson controls and dominates the game on a shift to shift basis? There isn’t one defenceman in the league that is even close to the level he has been playing at since last year.
The funny thing is, the things I am saying are nothing new, it has been well documented around the league how good of a player he is, trust me I wouldn’t have the right (or the balls) to be the first person to come out and say he is being considered the best player in the league. Do you not own a tv or possess the ability to read? Or do you just put your TML earmuffs on everytime someone is gushing about Karlsson? That way you can keep pretending that he is comparable to a Mike Green even the slightest bit.
This has nothing to do with where Karlsson plays. I’ve said for years that Spezza is a great player and that Alfie is one of the hardest working players in the league. The point is you have no basis to suggest Karlsson is the league’s best players and that the magnitude of his loss is comparable to the loss of Crosby. If you had been watching or reading about hockey several seasons ago, you’d recall that there was significant talk about Green dominating the defensive category for years to come and anchoring Team Canada’s power play into the future. That’s no longer the case due to injuries, but the initial meteoric rise of both players, including the number of points they collected and their ability to control games, is very comparable. As for the Leafs comment, that’s my very point: you’re okaying bashing the Leafs, but when it comes to signalling out any other team or player, you jump into a defensive fit. “Hypocrisy” is a word you may want to look-up. You can certainly dish the jokes (e.g. your “innocent” Leafs column), but you cannot take them. It’s a wonder you take yourself seriously.
[...] start, let’s get one thing perfectly clear: any lame attempt to compare the magnitude of Erik Karlsson’s recent injury against Sidney Crosby’s [...]
Karlsson is NO crosby! no way! no one cares outside o-town! im a sens fan, but 4 real!
Your title compares them? come on, that;s super lame
Andrew, buddy. Where are all the other comments on your story? Free ‘em up.