Erik Karlsson Reveals Why He Chose The Pittsburgh Penguins

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Tyler Ball
August 9, 2023 (9:58 PM)

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The Erik Karlsson sweepstakes kicked off once the NHL season officially ended. Several teams were in the running but in the end, Pittsburgh is where Karlsson will call home for the next several seasons.

Karlsson Chooses Pittsburgh

Up until this point Karlsson had not been heard from much but that all changed when he had his introductory press conference on Wednesday. Karlsson says he did not give the Sharks a list of teams he preferred but instead picked Pittsburgh from the teams involved in the process once talks started heating up.

Winning The Cup Is The Ultimate Goal

He goes on to explain that a main motivation for choosing Pittsburgh was the opportunity to win a cup.

(Winning the Cup), it's always been the ultimate drive. I think for myself, I like to play the important games and be on successful teams and have success collectively as a group. I've played against Pittsburgh many times and lost against them when they won the ultimate prize. That's something they know how to do here I'm really excited to step into that group and learn some new things, but also bring some things.

He goes on to compliment the current core by talking about how they have been good for a long time and know how to get it done in the playoffs.

Finally, Karlsson touched on how he is excited to learn from the other guys. This is unique as usually a player will talk about how they can improve or contribute to the group but Karlsson mentioned how the group can help improve him.

With this acquisition, the Penguins have helped to keep their Stanley Cup window wide open. It will be interesting to see how long it takes Karlsson to fit into the Pittsburgh system once the season gets going.