Top 10 worst moments in Ottawa Senators franchise history

Jeff Friesen game winning goal
Jeff Friesen game winning goal | Al Bello/GettyImages
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4. The captain gets traded

There are trades that are emotional and hurt a franchise and fan base. One trade that did that was the Senators in September 2018.

One month before the 2018-19 season, the Senators traded their then captain Erik Karlsson to the San Jose Sharks. Karlsson served as Senators captain for the past four seasons and the trade was a heart breaker.

Karlsson was a two-time Norris Trophy winner and was arguably the best defensemen in the NHL year in and year out with the Senators. The Senators reached the playoffs five times with Karlsson on the team and were one game away from the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals.

Although the Senators did acquire Josh Norris in the trade, the Senators haven't made the playoffs since the trade, and have been a door mat for years. In the first year of the trade, the Sharks made the 2019 Western Conference Finals, and Karlsson won the 2023 Vezina Trophy with the Sharks after recording a 102-point season.

Karlsson will go down as one of the best players from the 2010s for his incredible talent and accomplishments, but being traded as the captain was emotional for everyone. When considering how the Karlsson trade could've been considered by many as the acceptance of the start of the Senators rebuild, it makes the moment hurt more. If Karlsson was not traded in 2018, the direction of the Senators could've been much different.

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