Senators' top scorer traded twice in 2 hours amid bizarre cyberbullying scandal
In professional sports, there are any number of reasons for a team to trade away a star player.
Sometimes the star player is disgruntled with his team, a la the NBA’s Kyrie Irving. At that point a team could trade away the unhappy player to maximize a return.
Other times, the star players’ value is diminished and not worth the exorbitant contract they likely signed while still in their prime. The NFL’s Bill Belichick is notorious for trading away players in this condition, sticking to his axiom that it’s always better to get rid of a player one year too early than one year too late.
Of course, there are any number of other common scenarios that can help facilitate a trade.
A partnership can sour, as was the case between Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal. A toxic relationship with the coach and team can lead to a trade, which is something Terrell Owens is all too familiar with. Many times, something as simple as a team deciding to rebuild can lead to trades, something you see all the time in MLB as teams decide to either try and stockpile prospects or make a run for the playoffs at the trade deadline.
All that being said, the strange tale of former Ottawa Senators forward Mike Hoffman being traded is a tad different than the others.
The Senators’ top scorer over the last three seasons was traded twice Tuesday morning, according to multiple reports, going from the Senators to the San Jose Sharks to the Florida Panthers in a matter of hours.
TRADE: The #FlaPanthers have acquired forward Mike Hoffman and a 2018 7th round pick from the @SanJoseSharks.
Details » https://t.co/gOBMMcelc5 pic.twitter.com/EOJdWrI1JK
— x – Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) June 19, 2018
The string of trades comes on the heels of a bizarre online bullying scandal involving Hoffman’s fianceé, Monika Caryk, and Senators captain Erik Karlsson’s wife, Melinda Karlsson.
Caryk had an order of protection filed against her on May 4 by Melinda Karlsson, who said she he had faced a barrage of online harassment.
Some of that harassment allegedly related to the death of the Karlssons’ child, who was stillborn in March. The comments regarding the child were posted on Instagram under a pseudonym.
“Monika Caryk has uttered numerous statements wishing my unborn child dead … uttered that she wished I was dead and that someone should ‘take out’ my husband’s legs to end his career,” the Karlssons claimed in the official court documents. “Monika Caryk has posted over 1,000 negative and derogatory statements about me as a professional.”
Julie Turris, the wife of former Senators center Kyle Turris, supported the Karlssons on Twitter.
This crossed the line from cyber bullying to something entirely different in April. Unfortunate that this private matter has become public. Incredibly proud of my girl for standing up for herself and her family, it took courage. https://t.co/wAOwGTlKy2
— Julie (@julieturris) June 12, 2018
For their part, Hoffman and Caryk deny they had anything to do with the offending comments.
“It’s 150 percent that it’s not us,” Hoffman said in an interview with the Ottawa Citizen. “We have nothing to hide. We’re willing to cooperate in any way to solve this and figure it out and prove that it wasn’t us.”
Despite their claims of innocence, the Senators opted to move Hoffman ahead of the NHL draft before irreparable damage was done to the team’s chemistry.
“[The trade] showcases our determination to strengthen the future of the team by improving chemistry, leadership and character in the locker room and on the ice,” Senators GM Pierre Dorion said in a statement via NHL.com.
The first trade of the day saw Hoffman, a prospect and a 2020 fifth-round draft pick being dealt to the Sharks for veteran Mikkel Boedker, Julius Bergman and a 2020 sixth-round pick.
In the subsequent trade, San Jose traded Hoffman and a 2018 seventh-round draft pick for the Panthers’ 2018 second-, fourth- and fifth-round selections.
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