The Dallas Stars have once again emerged as the favorites to trade for Ottawa Senators defenceman Erik Karlsson, according to Larry Brooks of the New York Post.
Last week, the Tampa Bay Lightning were reportedly on the verge of trading Karlsson - with the New York Rangers being involved as a third team in the deal. But according to Brooks, talks between Ottawa and Tampa "have subsided," and the Stars are now the most likely landing spot.
The Stars don't have as many quality trade chips to offer up as the Lightning, however. Also, it's believed that Dallas isn't interested in giving up Miro Heiskanen - the third overall pick from the 2017 draft. Unless general manager Jim Nill is willing to include him in a trade, it's tough to see how the Stars will be able to land Karlsson.
And though the Stars are being reported as the favorites to land Karlsson, Joe Smith of The Athletic added that the Lightning are still in the running - even after extending Nikita Kucherov to a $76 million extension.
The Lightning would be able to offer up many young roster players and draft picks, including Mikhail Sergachev, Tyler Johnson and Brayden Point, among others. So the Stars will really need to step up if they want to win the Karlsson sweepstakes.
A year after they came one goal away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final, the Senators fell apart entirely in 2018. Owner Eugene Melnyk ripped the fans for not selling out games and threatened to move the team.
On top of that, sniper Mike Hoffman was traded to the Florida Panthers following reports that his fiancee cyber bullied Karlsson and his wife, Melinda - which included taunts of their stillborn son.
It's also been rumored that goalie Craig Anderson would like a trade, on top of all that. Add it all up, and the Senators are a complete mess - and trading Karlsson may be their only option as they try to build out of it.