Hoffman, Caryk deny harassing Karlssons

Ottawa Senators forward Mike Hoffman and his fiancee, Monika Caryk, again denied any involvement in online harassment of Hoffman's teammate Erik Karlsson and his wife, Melinda, saying the allegations haven't been substantiated.

Related: Erik Karlsson's wife accuses Hoffman's girlfriend of harassment campaign

"We feel compassion and awful for what Erik and Melinda have had to deal with," Hoffman told Bruce Garrioch of The Ottawa Citizen on Friday. "I don't really think it's correct to be blamed for something without having proof."

It was reported Tuesday that Melinda applied for a peace bond against Caryk in May after months of alleged harassment through social media. On Wednesday, Hoffman's agent said the team and all parties involved have been aware of the situation since the end of the regular season.

Hoffman says he attempted to speak directly with his captain in late March.

"I sent a message out to him saying, 'I'm aware of the situation and I'd like to discuss it and go through it with you,'" Hoffman said.

"It wasn't until four days later that he spoke with me. We ended up doing it after practice, walking out of the rink, and basically what was said was, 'I'd like to see what your point of the story is' and all he had to say was, 'We know it was Monika' and I asked whether it was on Instagram? Twitter? Just show something or prove something.

"They wouldn't do so at the time. All he said was that they knew it was her and it was the only thing mentioned."

Hoffman says he and Caryk reached out to the Karlssons at the end of May to discuss the situation privately but "got nothing back."

The Karlssons haven't made an official statement regarding the allegations or the peace bond.

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