It's causing a bit of buzz right now, so I figured I'd draw attention to it: Erik Karlsson and Peter Regin did not attend practice today. Brent Wallace from TSN just tweeted that they are sick, which is almost certainly true. However, a lot of fans looking at the schedule have realized that this is quite convenient timing, so I'll explain why.

Speculation is running rampant with Karlsson missing practice because he has now played 9 games. If he is sent down to Binghamton or back to Sweden, then this year does not count as a year on his entry-level contract. Therefore, sending Karlsson down makes very good cap management sense for the Ottawa Senators, because it means that they could have a better Erik Karlsson next year (and the two years following) for the same price he's at currently.

From my understanding of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, sending Peter Regin down does not save a year of his contract because of his age. Therefore, there are no rumours that he's being sent down, particularly since he has been one of Ottawa's better players in the early going.

Remember, the only thing confirmed here is that those two were not on the ice, and everything else is speculation, so take it with a grain of salt (or disregard it entirely). I'd be willing to bet that they really are both sick, and were given some time off to rest before the road-trip to Florida. In fact, I'm fairly confident that this is the case, because they are missing a practice, not a game. There's no benefit to the club to have Karlsson miss a practice, even if he's being sent to Binghamton -- Sens management would want him to get all the NHL experience he could before being sent down. However, Bryan Murray has stated repeatedly that Erik is being given every shot to make the team and won't be judged by the 9 game deadline, so that should stop most of the conspiracy theorists in their tracks instantly.

Regardless, to wash down that half-baked speculation, here is some good news: Filip Kuba was practicing with the team this morning. Huzzah!