In order to return to the playoffs, the Pittsburgh Penguins took extreme measures and signed Erik Karlsson. However, this is not the only change in the defense brigade long led by Kristopher Letang.
The Quebec defenseman is entering his 17th season in the National Hockey League and has seen his share of setbacks come and go. Except a 100-point scorer like Karlsson doesn’t come along often. Letang campaigned for the Swede’s arrival in the summer and was not disappointed.
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“It’s always special to have a player of this caliber. We all know the success he had last year and in the past. It always takes a change, but in the end it will be positive,” said the 36-year-old veteran at a press conference on Wednesday.
Letang actually has to expect that his playing time on the power play will decrease in favor of Karlsson. The Montrealer could make a transition in the coming years. The proof of this was that he took his place in the second pair alongside Ryan Graves in training. Karlsson played with his compatriot Marcus Pettersson.
Graves is also a new face in the Penguins locker room. The Nova Scotian, best known for his defensive abilities, played the last two seasons for the New Jersey Devils. For his part, Letang was particularly impressed by his height of 1.80 m and weight of 90 kg.
“He takes up a lot of space on the ice. I didn’t realize how massive he was until I played with him. He’s a guy who can move very well for his size. He can also maneuver the puck well,” he explained.
Even better
The day before, head coach Mike Sullivan praised the work of another La Belle Province representative: Pierre-Olivier Joseph. He said the 24-year-old was “light years ahead of last year.” Letang shares this opinion.
“I don’t think we were bad, but when you add someone like Karlsson to your blue line, you go to the next level.” PO is gaining a lot of experience. […] If you think about that PO and [Chad Ruhwedel] “Making our third pair and how they contribute shows the depth we have,” he assured.
Youngsters Ty Smith and Libor Hajek, the latter on the basis of a professional trial, will also try to secure a place at the big club.
Pittsburgh enjoyed a day off before taking on the Buffalo Sabers on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena.