Senators' Dorion: We want Karlsson for life

Everyone take a deep breath, the Ottawa Senators firmly intend on keeping Norris Trophy-winning rearguard Erik Karlsson for a very long time.

Despite rumors starting to swirl around Karlsson and a potential trade out of O-Town, Senators general manager Pierre Dorion is quite clear on how he wants to handle the 2019 unrestricted free agent.

"We love Erik Karlsson. We understand he went through a pretty serious operation ... We love him. We want him to be an Ottawa Senator for life," Dorion said during a media scrum Wednesday, according to Sportsnet's Arash Madani.

Despite making it explicitly clear that he wants to stay and win in Ottawa, speculation around Karlsson builds as the Senators further their slide to the basement of the standings.

Karlsson made headlines earlier this month when he said he wouldn't be taking any hometown discounts during his upcoming contract negotiations. He also submitted a list of potential teams he would not accept a trade to, but later said that was just a formality.

It's a notion Dorion confirmed Wednesday: "We've had everyone's trade list for a while," he said, according to Madani.

If the Senators are serious about keeping Karlsson for the duration of his NHL career, they better be prepared to back the Brinks truck up in front of the Swede's home, as the all-world blue-liner is set for massive pay increase from the rather humble $6.5 million per year that he is currently earning.