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“That’s really what it’s about. He played with (Fredrik) Claesson (Friday) and it went great. He’s played with (Thomas) Chabot and looked great. Really, I think with Erik it’s no summer to train, no camp, the physical and healing part. Everything has to do with flexibility and strength. There’s no one I know without any training who could just show up for camp and catch up to the level they were at before.”

Boucher said the next few months will be pivotal for Karlsson. The past few weeks haven’t been easy with Karlsson surrounded by talk he was going to be dealt before the Senators resisted at last Monday’s deadline because the offers weren’t close to what the club needed in return.

“It was about Erik having to go through the mental part that came after the physical part,” Boucher said. “It also became an emotional part and when you have to fight on three fronts, that’s tough. With the trade rumours and all that stuff, that’s just one more thing that added on to everything else.

“People want to say now the trade deadline is gone and Erik’s breathing now. I’m sure he is. He has family, but really it’s a whole year of so many things that piled up that made a tough year for him. He’s such a good player, he’s demanding of himself and he knows how good he can be. It was tough for him to see the team not at its best and him not able to pull it like he used to pull.

“It’s got to be on everybody’s shoulders, not just his shoulders, because he can’t do it himself. You can see Erik is definitely back. That consistency is going to come back. The summer is gigantic for him because, once he gets that summer, that’s where he gets the physical part. Once he gets the physical part back, the emotional part will be in the right place.”