RUMOUR: 3rd Team in the Running for Erik Karlsson

The trade talk for Erik Karlsson has picked up considerably ever since Senators GM Pierre Dorion allowed other GMs to speak with Karlsson's agent regarding a contract extension. The 2 teams that were leading the way in these trade talks were the Vegas Golden Knights and Tampa Bay Lightning. Well it appears a 3rd team has slipped in and is now the leader in the race to grab the Swedish defence-man.
David Pagnotta of "TheFourthPeriod" reports that the Dallas Stars are in the mix for acquiring Karlsson. Chris Stevenson also reports that the Stars are the "front-runners" in the hunt for the Senators captain.

What's really interesting to note however, is Pagnotta believes Miro Heiskanen, a top defensive prospect currently with the Stars, is not available for trade. On top of that, Stevenson also reports the trade talks he has heard do NOT involve Dallas taking on Bobby Ryan's contract.

This leaves most people scratching their heads. The Stars want Karlsson, but are unwilling to give up arguably the only prospect of value even close to that of Karlsson, and refuse to take on Ryan's anchor of a contract. Not entirely certain how they would be the "front-runners" in this situation.

The Golden Knights were in heavy pursuit of Karlsson at the 2018 trade deadline, coming close to a deal that would send prospects Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki, and 2 first round picks to the Senators AND the Golden Knights were willing to take on the contract of Bobby Ryan. Sadly, it ended up falling through, and instead Vegas went to Detroit and acquired Tomas Tatar for 3 draft picks.

The Lightning are a massive question mark in my head. The team is loaded on offence with players like Stamkos and Kucherov in the spotlight. Their defence is very good as well. Superstar Victor Hedman with Ryan McDonagh and youngster Mikhail Sergachev. The only problem is, the team is about to be absolutely gut-punched by the salary cap next season. The need to re-sign Nikita Kucherov stands at the top of that list, not to mention defence-men Anton Stralman, Brayden Coburn, Dan Girardi and possibly even Erik Karlsson? I don't understand how Yzerman can make that work.

Who do you think Karlsson will be sent to? Comment below