Karlsson trade an 'affirmation' Penguins can compete for Cup, Dubas says

Kyle Dubas said he believes the Pittsburgh Penguins' veteran core has another Stanley Cup run in them, which is why they acquired three-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks.

As president of hockey operations and general manager of the Penguins, Dubas said he wanted to give the veterans the best chance to win this season and acquiring Karlsson in a three-team deal, also involving the Montreal Canadiens, does that in his opinion.

"It's just affirmation that we believe they have a chance to contend and compete for a championship," Dubas said Monday. "There is a lot of work that needs to be done. Obviously, the team missed the playoffs last year, there's no dancing around it. We tried to supplement as best we can, and I know there will be lots of people that doubt the group and rightfully so.

"We have to go out and prove it right from the first day of training camp and build to where we want to get to. I think the doubts are fair, I think the criticisms are fair. We have our belief and it's about us to go out and execute."

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Pittsburgh acquired Karlsson, 33, with forwards Rem Pitlick, Dillon Hamaliuk and San Jose's third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft. Pitlick, 26, had 15 points (six goals, nine assists) in 46 games for the Canadiens last season. Hamaliuk, 22, had seven points (four goals, three assists) in six games with Wichita of the ECHL.

San Jose received Pittsburgh's first round pick in 2024, which is top-10 protected, forwards Mikael Granlund, Mike Hoffman and defenseman Jan Rutta. Montreal received a second-round pick from Pittsburgh in the 2025 NHL Draft, defenseman Jeff Petry, goalie Casey DeSmith and forward Nathan Legare.

Karlsson is the centerpiece of the trade. He had 101 points (25 goals, 76 assists) in 82 games for San Jose in 2022-23, becoming the sixth defenseman in NHL history to reach 100 points in a season and the first since Brian Leetch of the New York Rangers had 102 points (22 goals, 80 assists) in 1991-92.

"First of all, it's a huge message to our whole team that our ownership group and our management team and our coaching staff have committed to trying to win and I think that's a really important message and through our management teams' actions," Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said. "I think that speaks loudly and I think this is a huge message to a whole group that we believe in these guys, and we believe that we can still win the Stanley Cup."

Karlsson has four years remaining on an eight-year, $92 million contract ($11.5 million average annual value) he signed with the Sharks on June 17, 2019. San Jose is retaining $1.5 million of the contract for the next four years. He revealed at the 2023 NHL Awards in Nashville that he asked for a trade to a contending team since San Jose is rebuilding.

"It was a unique opportunity to add a player like Erik," Dubas said. "Obviously, we had to part with some assets, but we gained more flexibility and added him on at the same time. I think that was the message, it's clear. He's still an elite player, which he showed last year winning the Norris Trophy. If we had a chance to add him, we're going to do it, because we believe in the group."

The Penguins (40-31-11) were fifth in the Metropolitan Division last season and missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs, finishing one point behind the Florida Panthers for the second wild card from the Eastern Conference. They had qualified for the playoffs the previous 16 seasons, the longest streak in the NHL.

Center Sidney Crosby, who turned 36 on Monday, led the Penguins with 93 points (33 goals, 60 assists) in 82 games. Center Evgeni Malkin, 37, had 83 points (27 goals, 56 assists) in 82 games.

Kris Letang, 36, was the Penguins' top-scoring defenseman with 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 64 games.

Crosby, Malkin and Letang each are three-time Stanley Cup champions with Pittsburgh, which last won the Cup in 2017.

"These guys are more hungry than they've ever been," Sullivan said. "It was a humbling experience not making the playoffs. That's something that the Penguins are not accustomed to and none of us swallowed that pill very easily, so we're going to do everything in our power to make sure that doesn't happen again and give ourselves an opportunity to compete for the Stanley Cup right now."

Karlsson was acquired by San Jose from the Ottawa Senators on Sept. 13, 2018. He had 243 points (52 goals, 191 assists) in 293 games with the Sharks, who've missed the playoffs the past four seasons. The closest he's come to the Stanley Cup was reaching the Eastern Conference Final with the Senators in 2017 and Western Conference Final with the Sharks in 2019.

"I think one of the reasons we wanted to bring Erik in, is going through our team, one of the things I felt talking with 'Sully' (Sullivan) about it, is to continue to improve our ability to move the puck from our own zone," Dubas said. "Erik, I think, is one of the elite players in that regard in the NHL, even though he's in his early 30s, he continues to be one of the top skaters in the NHL and his production and offense is quite prolific."

NHL.com staff writer Amalie Benjamin contributed to this report