Senators captain Erik Karlsson on board with Guy Boucher’s plan in Ottawa

LAS VEGAS – Erik Karlsson is on board with Guy Boucher’s plan for the Ottawa Senators.

The club hired Boucher as its head coach last month after Dave Cameron was dismissed following a disappointing 2015-16 campaign.

Karlsson had a standout year, finishing fifth in league scoring with 16 goals and 66 assists, but the Senators’ superstar captain was unable to get his team into the playoffs as Ottawa missed out for the second time in three seasons.

The defenceman met with Boucher after the move was announced and liked what he heard from the former head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“He’s a very smart person and he knows what he wants,” Karlsson said Tuesday at a media availability ahead of the NHL Awards. “He knows what he needs to do to get where he wants to go and where he wants us to go.”

There has been talk that the 26-year-old Karlsson might have to alter his game in order for the Senators to have success after Ottawa gave up the most shots in the league and the fifth most goals against last season.

“I think the way (Boucher) formulated things for me was easy to understand and I completely bought into everything he had to say,” said Karlsson. “I think everybody’s going to do the same thing.”

Karlsson added he did some research with a couple of Boucher’s former players before sitting down with his new coach.

“Everybody that I’ve talked to said good things about him,” said Karlsson. “I haven’t heard anything bad that he brings to the table. Before going into meeting I had a very positive outlook.”

Karlsson is up for the Norris Trophy as the top defenceman in the league at Wednesday’s NHL Awards — an honour he’s already won twice, including last season — but being nominated did little to ease the pain of a lost year in the nation’s capital.

“We’re all disappointed with the season we had up in Ottawa. I don’t think anyone is really pleased with what they did, myself included,” he said. “That’s just the way we are, the way that we think, especially knowing in Ottawa and on our team we want team success before anything else. For me it was a disappointing year.

“I think I’m a better player now than I was last year. Ever since I got in the league I think I’ve taken a step forward every year. I’m happy with the type of player and the person I am today. At the same time, you can always do more.”

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