Morning Skate: Erik Karlsson has yet to skate after foot surgery, but that’s not a cause for concern

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Lace ’em up. Time for the Morning Skate.

It’s been almost three months since Erik Karlsson underwent surgery to repair torn tendons in his left foot. Karlsson famously played with two hairline fractures in his foot during the Stanley Cup playoffs, as he led the Ottawa Senators to the Eastern Conference Final.

Now, with less than two weeks until training camps begin, Karlsson has yet to skate despite being in “good spirits” about the recovery, according to TSN’s Pierre LeBrun. The expected recovery time given back in June was four months, which lines up to the start of the new NHL season. Given Karlsson has yet to skate with training camp on the horizon, however, it’s looking more likely that he will not be on the Senators’ starting lineup at the beginning of October.

Karlsson said as much to the Associated Press, as he confirmed there is no official “timetable” for his return.

Now before Senators fans panic, this isn’t the worst case scenario. Karlsson is on track with his recovery, but it’s clear the Senators’ captain doesn’t want to push his luck. Though there isn’t a timetable for his return, his recovery shouldn’t keep him out longer than a few weeks to start the season if everything goes as it should.

Does this put a damper on the new season for the Senators? Of course. Being without their best player to start a new year is a blow after a strong end to their 2016-17 season. But many fans would likely agree that they’d rather keep their MVP on the sidelines for a few weeks longer to ensure a full recovery.

The NHL will now penalize teams that fail offside challenges by giving them a two-minute minor. This doesn’t eliminate the NHL’s controversial rule, but it could be a smart change to a much-maligned challenge.

The Florida Panthers are directly in the path of Hurricane Irma and will evacuate to Boston in the wake of the approaching storm. With training camps opening soon, the Panthers may have to stay in Massachusetts depending on the damage done to the state of Florida.

Hurricane Irma also has caused the cancellation of a rookie tournament between the Panthers, Capitals, Predators, and Lightning after a state of emergency was put in place.

The door remains open for Jagr to play in the 2018 Winter Olympics if he doesn’t return to the NHL next season, as he’s been included on the preliminary list of players for the Czech Republic team.