Landing Norris Trophy Winner Erik Karlsson a Game Changer for Penguins

Erik Karlsson, the best defenseman in the NHL and one of the greatest to ever play the position, is officially a Pittsburgh Penguin.

He's now teammates with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

Let that sink in.

It's truly one of those situations where you have to keep asking yourself, is this real life?! And yes, it is. It's not just some magnificent dream. Erik Karlsson is officially a Pittsburgh Penguin.

Karlsson coming to Pittsburgh defines the term 'blockbuster move.' The full details of the three-team trade with San Jose and Montreal are here. The reigning Norris Trophy winner, coming off the best season of his Hall of Fame career, would obviously make any team he joined immediately and infinitely better.

But his joining a group like this, with a championship-caliber core already in place, just turned them into a serious Stanley Cup contender. Karlsson wouldn't have come here otherwise, as he's been vocal about wanting an opportunity to win, something he didn't have in San Jose - which is why the Sharks were willing to trade him.

When that information came out at the beginning of July, rumors about Pittsburgh being interested in Karlsson started swirling right away - with Penguins President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Kyle Dubas getting asked point blank if there was any truth to them.

"When a player like that comes available, I think especially with the core group and how special that core group of people is in the room… well, I think it's incumbent on me to reach out and see if there's a fit there for us," Dubas said.

It took some time, but Dubas displayed a tremendous amount of patience, and managed to orchestrate a deal through some absolute wizardryto acquire Karlsson from San Jose. This trade shows just how truly committed the Penguins are to bringing another Stanley Cup to the city of Pittsburgh. At this point, it really doesn't matter about the term, salary, or any of those details. All that matters is Karlsson will help this team in the here and now, making their odds of success so much higher.

When Dubas took the job, he wasn't bothered by those skeptical of the Penguins' chances, saying they could bet against this group at their own risk, but he was going to bet on them, and do his part to build them up. He said he wanted to supplement the greatness players like Crosby, Malkin and Letang bring … and ended up bringing in an elite superstar who's in the same echelon.

Like the Big Three, Karlsson simply operates on another level than most, and it's almost overwhelming to think of what they'll be able to do while sharing an ice surface. The blueliner, who turned 33 on May 31, is an absolute world-class player. He's a game changer and a difference maker, with his incredible skating, superb vision, and uncanny anticipation skills all keeping him at least one step ahead of everyone else. Karlsson's talent allows him to make a huge impact across all 200 feet of the ice, and put up forward-like numbers despite being a defenseman.

He's produced five 70-point seasons, passing the century mark for the first time in 2022-23. Karlsson became the sixth different defenseman in NHL history and the first since Brian Leetch in 1991-92 to record a 100-point season, leading all blueliners with 25 goals, 76 assists, and 101 points. His offensive gifts will be welcome on a team built around players who have it in their DNA to make plays, and Mike Sullivan and the Penguins coaching staff will surely work with Karlsson on finding the right balance between risk and reward.

The seven-time All-Star is a perennial contender for the Norris Trophy, given annually to "the defense player who demonstrates the greatest all-round ability in the position throughout the season." Karlsson has been a finalist five times and won three times - in 2012 and '15 with the Ottawa Senators, who drafted him in the first round in 2008, and this past season with San Jose.

What makes this most recent win even more special is that Karlsson is in such a good place both professionally and personally. He feels really good about his game and feels really good about himself, saying "as much as I try and stay in the moment, reflecting back as much as I can at this stage, it gives me a lot of joy. I think that's the most important thing maybe I had been missing before for a little bit, is just enjoying hockey again. Because I love to play this sport, I love what I do, and I think that really showed this year."

Knowing the Penguins are getting a happy, healthy, and motivated Erik Karlsson at the top of his game? A true 'pinch me' moment. He's ready to build on everything he accomplished last year, and hopefully, it cumulates with another piece of hardware.

"I think this was a season where I'm going to choose to take all the good parts from it, and try to learn from every situation that was thrown at me throughout the year and try and grow from it," Karlsson said. "I still feel like I had a fantastic year and I felt good the whole way, but I still feel like there's more. That's what makes me excited moving forward."