Kyle Dubas: Adding Erik Karlsson a Show of Faith in the Group

When Kyle Dubas first joined the Penguins earlier this summer, he said he felt this was a group capable of contending for a championship.

Acquiring Erik Karlsson in a three-team trade with San Jose and Montreal is an affirmation of that conviction.

"We have our belief, and then it's up to us to go and execute it. That's on me to lead the way, and get the group and the coaching staff and the players what I think they need," said Dubas, Pittsburgh's President of Hockey Operations and General Manager.

"So, it was a unique opportunity to add a player like Erik, where 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 that he's still an elite player, as he showed last year winning the Norris Trophy (awarded annually to the defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-round ability in the position). If we have a chance to add him, we're going to do it, because we believe in the group."

Dubas and his team in the Penguins front office deserve a tremendous amount of credit for masterfully orchestrating the trade. But ultimately, all that matters is they provided a piece that can help the Penguins in so many ways - with one area, in particular, standing out to both Dubas and Head Coach Mike Sullivan.

"One of the things that I had felt, and talking with Sully about it, was we needed to continually 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 obviously, his production is quite prolific."

Karlsson, who turned 33 on May 31, is known for being the best offensive defenseman of his generation. Since entering the league in 2009-10, Karlsson leads all blueliners in assists (583) and points (761) in 920 career games, and his 178 goals rank second behind only Brent Burns (210). Karlsson scored a career-high 25 goals and 101 points last season, becoming the sixth different defenseman in NHL history and the first since Brian Leetch in 1991-92 to pass the century mark.

While Karlsson's staggering stats stand out the most, at his core, he's a world-class athlete who's extraordinarily well-conditioned and thrives under a huge workload - just like Penguins franchise defenseman Kris Letang. Karlsson averaged 25:37 minutes per game last season, which ranked fifth among NHL defensemen, while Letang rounded out the top 10 with 24:51.

"Both have shown in the past to be able to take on massive minutes," Dubas said. "I think we want to be cognizant of that as we go through the regular season. (Penguins associate coach) Todd Reirden and Sully will manage that and handle that, but I think it allows us to have one of those two players on the ice for at least 50 minutes of the game. Hopefully a little bit less [laughs]."

Dubas said while he's never looking for approval from the players when it comes to potential moves, there was a conversation with Letang - who's been the leader of Pittsburgh's blue line for a very long time - about how the Penguins saw this working, to get an idea of where his head was at.

"Unsurprisingly with Kris, it was very clearly, 'whatever's going to make us better and help us win,'" Dubas said. "So, I think this process has also shown me why it was appealing for me to come here (after five seasons as GM of the Toronto Maple Leafs), because Sully and the group of guys that have won here all together - that's all they care about. They're not worried about their power-play time; they're not worried about anything other than winning."

That goes for Karlsson as well, who wants nothing more than a chance to compete for a Stanley Cup - which is the main reason the rebuilding Sharks began looking to trade him in the first place.

"He's a very competitive, very motivated person who wants to come here and help our team," Dubas said.

Karlsson and Letang, who are both right-handed, will make up the right side of the top four. Having them on separate pairs is essentially the equivalent of having Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on separate lines - giving the Penguins a pair of one-two punches in the forward group and D corps.

Dubas sees Ryan Graves, who signed a six-year deal in free agency to fill a role similar to the one left by Letang's long-time D partner Brian Dumoulin, and Marcus Pettersson making up the left side of the top four. The Penguins will see what combinations fit best, and as for the third pairing, Dubas said he would love to see one of the younger guys take the opportunity and run with it.

With veterans Jeff Petry and Jan Rutta leaving Pittsburgh as part of the Karlsson trade, Dubas said there's a chance they may look to add blue line depth from the remaining free agent pool, whether that's through contracts or professional tryout agreements.

This trade is obviously the highlight of a busy summer for the Penguins, as Dubas made plenty of other moves to get the team ready for the 2023-24 season - Video: Kyle Dubas speaks with the media.. But just because a team looks good on paper doesn't mean anything. The Penguins have to translate their potential into on-ice results.

"There's a lot of work that has to be done," Dubas said. "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 that there'll be lots of people that doubt the group, and rightfully so. I mean, we have to go out and prove it starting in the first day of training camp, and building to where we want to get to."