Penguins Wrap: Karlsson Comes Aboard; True Cup Contenders?

Well, it certainly took long enough, but it’s completely understandable if the Pittsburgh Penguins believe it was worth the wait.

More than a month after the Penguins’ interest in prying Erik Karlsson away from San Jose become public, Kyle Dubas, their president of hockey operations and general manager, constructed a three-team trade that included Montreal and allowed Dubas to reach his objective.

And, in the process, to unload the contracts of several players who had been lackluster — or worse — in 2023-24.

A look back at a week that kicked off with one of the biggest acquisitions in recent franchise history:

Sunday

Kyle Dubas didn’t just land Erik Karlsson. He got him via a trade in which the Penguins actually shed salary and didn’t give up a prominent member of their major-league club or any of their few top-shelf prospects.

Getting Karlsson was a masterstroke by Kyle Dubas, but it probably shouldn’t be his final move of the offseason.

Here are the details of the three-team trade that brought Karlsson to the Penguins.

Monday

Kyle Dubas goes into detail about what went on behind the scenes, leading up to the Karlsson trade.

Dubas suggests that Jake Guentzel, who is recovering from surgery on his right ankle, could miss as few as five games at the start of the season.

Tuesday

Forward Mikael Granlund, who went to San Jose in the Karlsson trade, reflects on all that went wrong during his 21-game stint with the Penguins last season.

Wednesday

Although Erik Karlsson and Kris Letang have been alpha defensemen for most of their careers, Karlsson doesn’t foresee any problems with the two coexisting.

Nathan Legare’s failure to develop into an NHL-caliber winger since joining the organization four years ago underscores the challenges of identifying quality propects in the NHL Draft.

The Penguins hire Marty Lauzon to serve as director of high performance.

Thursday

There’s not much doubt that the Pittsburgh Penguins have become a better team since the end of last season. But are they good enough to make a serious run at the franchise’s sixth Stanley Cup?

Friday

Kyle Dubas has done some impressive things since taking control of the hockey operations department, but his most revealing move might have been he didn’t make.

Saturday

There’s no shortage of talk on the internet about possible personnel moves by the Pittsburgh Penguins, and much of it is detached from reality.

Which of the Penguins’ Nos. 6-10 prospects look to have a realistic shot at reaching the NHL someday