Erik Karlsson-Mike Hoffman Drama Explained

If you've been following at all what's going on in the NHL these days, you know that the Washington Capitals just won the Stanley Cup after four decades of having not won it in their franchise's history. That's exciting, but perhaps more exciting for the average fan is that the NHL Entry Draft and free agency is just around the corner. This is a time of year when trades happen, free agents sign new deals and unexpected moves make being a fan fun. But, for the NHL players, this can be a stressful time of year.

It doesn't help when looming trades might be coming because of drama that exists inside a locker room, franchise or between teammates. Such is the case with Erik Karlsson and Mike Hoffman of the Ottawa Senators who are now both rumored to be traded out of Ottawa, not necessarily because of their play, but because of the drama that exists between their respective other halves.

So too, the Senators organization has been right in the middle of endless drama surrounding its owner and assistant general manager. This was the last thing the team needed. If you haven't heard the story, here's what's going on.

Pre-existing Trade Rumors

Both Karlsson and Hoffman were on the trade block. Karlsson is not someone the Senators want to trade but might have to simply because he is a free agent in the summer of 2019 and the organization wants to get the best value out of moving him if they think he won't sign an extension (which is the rumor). Karlsson would be a huge loss for the team but he'd also fetch a huge return. It might be a situation where the Sens have no choice and they try to make the applesauce out of disgruntled apples who stand to become golden.

Meanwhile, Hoffman has been the subject of trade rumors because the team is looking to make changes after a disastrous season and he could fetch a decent return with teams who might be looking for a scoring winger at a fair price.

The News Item That Shocked Everyone

If it wasn't bad enough that Karlsson might be looking to go elsewhere, it became clear this week that the likelihood he stays in Ottawa now is almost nil. News broke that Karlsson's wife, Melinda, filed an order of protection against Hoffman’s fiancee, Monika Caryk. It stems from cyberbullying that Melinda said had been ongoing, including Monika suggesting she wished death upon Melinda's unborn baby — the Karlssons' first child, a son named Axel, was stillborn in March.

It appeared Karlsson's wife wasn't looking to take all of this public but the story got out and while there's no proof these are the reasons both players are in trade rumors, it's not hard to start connecting dots. Why would a player want to stay in a city where his wife is being harassed by one of his own teammates' other halves? If the organization had any idea this was going on, of course, they would look to ship the problem player (and his significant other) out of town.

Now What?

Anyone who thought Karlsson might be looking to re-sign in Ottawa just got a wake-up call of epic proportions. If this story is true, staying with the Senators is probably the farthest thing from the star defenseman's mind. And while Hoffman is denying that his girlfriend did these things and, at this point, it's only an allegation, the drama surrounding the team is real. The organization is looking into it and most insiders understand the relationship between Karlsson and Hoffman is probably at a point where they can't co-exist on the same team.

This may be a situation where one woman (if found to have done these things) is ruining three other relationships and by association, Hoffman is going to get nailed for this pretty hard. Cyberbullying is a big deal these days and to have two players on the team entrenched in such a scandal is so much worse than what Bryan Colangelo of the 76ers might have done with his wife's five burner Twitter accounts.

It was almost a forgone reality that one of Karlsson or Hoffman wasn't going to stay in Ottawa past the summer. Now it looks like neither will.