what

Well that's a terrible trade for Ottawa...and yes they do need Holtby at least for 2 more seasons.

It's a great trade for Ottawa, but I think Grubauer is more likely to move.

So Wilson signs for less money than he makes now? Carlson signs for 4m?

Ottawa could get a much better deal for Karlsson than a goalie and late 2nd round pick.

Lol. Yep.

I'm just concerned about the Caps taking on a defenseman who went -25 this year and another who went -27. Plus minus can lie, but I think sometimes it can also point out that two guys together didn't make the best defensive pairing.

I think the Caps probably accept if Ottawa really offers two elite offensive defensemen for Holtby and a 2019 2nd pick, but then I think they should immediately flip either Karlsson or Ceci for picks, to limit how good that 2nd pick gets. Ceci's 24 years old has 25 career goals, only one on the power play. He's not going to be as good of an offensive defenseman as Karlsson (who had 62 even strength goals through his 24 year old season), but he doesn't have the injuries piling up, and doesn't have the trade value, and won't break the bank as quickly, so I'd flip Karlsson out west to the first team willing to give up two first round picks (or maybe just one, if it's Arizona's, this year?). But Karlsson and Ceci together gave up more goals than they scored this year, and Holtby is, for the third straight year, giving the Caps a chance to beat the juggernaut.

Is there any chance this offer actually appears? Because it would be fun to draw up scenarios where the Caps get to trade Karlsson or Ceci, but I'm guessing other Ottawa fans are shrugging this off because Karlsson is never actually getting traded. Also, Samsonov may have just had the best rookie season in KHL history, but he said in an interview about his contract that he's starting the year in Hershey. I trust him. The Caps sign a UFA goalie to work with Grubauer in this scenario, and need to sign a really good stay at home defenseman to balance out how much more offense they're putting on their blueline even with just one of those guys.