San Jose Sharks defenceman Erik Karlsson makes his return to Ottawa on Saturday afternoon.
Karlsson was emotional after the trade, and Sharks head coach Peter DeBoer says he expects something similar when the two-time Norris Trophy winner returns to Ottawa for the first time.
"He was attached deeply to that community and that team and in your conversations with him he really felt for most of the time there that he was going to spend his whole career there. His wife is from there and her family is from there so I'm sure it will be emotional," says DeBoer.
With his return to the nation's capital Karlsson says the transition from Ottawa to San Jose has taken some time on and off the ice.
"I've been getting as much help as I possibly can," he says. "There's nowhere else to go but up so I'm loking forward to that and I'm not tye type of guy who dwells on the past and looking back on 'what if's' and I'm excited to move forward. I feel great, my body feels great and the game is starting to take form."
The Senators dealt their captain and star defenceman to the Sharks in a blockbuster deal at the start of training camp.
So far in San Jose this season, Karlsson has 15 points in 26 games, made up of 2 goals and 13 assists.