Selected by the Senators in the first round (No. 15) of the 2008 NHL Draft, Karlsson has 518 points (126 goals, 392 assists) in 627 regular-season games and 37 points (six goals, 31 assists) in 48 playoff games. He became the face of the franchise and its most beloved figure when fan favorite Daniel Alfredsson left to sign a one-year, $5.5 million contract with the Detroit Red Wings on July 5, 2013.
Karlsson obtained near-hero status in Ottawa when he overcame two hairline fractures in his left heel to help the Senators reach the 2017 Eastern Conference Final. The Senators were eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in seven games, and Karlsson had surgery to repair torn tendons less than a month later.
Karlsson and Ottawa native Melinda Currey were married in August 2017. What followed would be a tumultuous 12 months for the newlyweds.
First, Karlsson tweeted on March 21, 2018 that the couple's son, named Axel, had been stillborn. "The joy he gave us will be with us forever," Karlsson wrote.
Adversity continued to follow the couple when the Ottawa Citizen reported in June that Currey filed an application for a peace bond against teammate Mike Hoffman's fiancee, Monika Caryk, alleging harassment and cyberbullying that occurred last season and continued after Axel's death. Hoffman, who denied the allegations, was traded to the Sharks a week later and then was traded to the Florida Panthers.
After it all, Karlsson said his heart remains embedded in Ottawa.
"I haven't really still wrapped my mind around what is really going on," he said. "I think it's been happening really fast, even though there's been a lot of noise for almost a year now.
"But again, I never, in my wildest imagination, ever thought that I was going to leave this place."
But, he's gone. He's with the San Jose Sharks now. And an entire city and its fan base is hurting today because of it.