Kovacevic: Karlsson, still-floored Penguins share a common mission

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- There was nothing. Not to the sequence. Not to the circumstance.

Justin Lee, a defenseman just out of college, had been spun into a corner of his zone. Two forwards had him trapped. A turnover seemed imminent.

Erik Karlsson, a defenseman just out of ... uh, a Norris Trophy ceremony, was Lee's partner for this shift in this scrimmage that opened the Penguins' training camp Thursday morning at the UPMC Lemieux Sports complex. And though nearby, he didn't rush to Lee's assistance. 

Because this guy, as anyone who's marveled at his magnificent career can attest, doesn't chase pucks. They chase him:

It's a dozen seconds, but with so much to digest, beginning with Rem Pitlick being the forechecker who succeeds in poking the puck from Lee ... only to have Karlsson awaiting it behind the net. Because he'd have roamed behind the net there ... why?

"He is who he is," Marcus Pettersson would respond later when I reminded of this play. "He's special."

Uh-uh. Not yet. He's truly special upon then collecting that puck, taking a couple strides to his left -- gliding across his body more fluidly than most do to their natural side -- then slammed a breakout off the left boards that soared into the air and somehow wound up on the stick of Sam Poulin way out beyond the red line, who'd have been sprung for a partial break but for the outlet having clipped Radim Zohorna's high stick.

Yeah, this dude's real, Pittsburgh. And he's really here.

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I'm not about to insult anyone's hockey IQ by attempting to encapsulate his career. Suffice it to say that, in his third season to culminate with a Norris, he put up 101 points to become the NHL's first defenseman into triple-digits in 31 years, and he did so for a San Jose team that lost twice as many games as it won, either scoring or setting up nearly half of the Sharks' 234 total goals.

As no less an authority than Sidney Crosby would word it, "He put up 100 points. That's crazy."

No, seriously. If any of this is new information for anyone, pause right here and re-read that entire paragraph up there. Because from this point forward, when discussing the Penguins' bank of stars, it's Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang ... and Karlsson.

None of which would be new to his new teammates.

"Yeah, I'd rather have him on my team than trying to chase him around the ice," Jeff Carter would say. "His game speaks for itself, what he can do on the ice. You've got him and Tanger back there that we're playing arguably three quarters of the game, it's pretty good. Aside from that, he's been around. He's played in a lot of big games, international, NHL all that. He knows what it takes. He's got a good presence in our room. He's not shy. I think it'll be a really good fit here."

"He brings such a light in the locker room," P.O Joseph would observe, as only he could. "The way he just brings his positive attitude every day is fun to be around. He loves to be able to be part of the group here and you see the joy on his face. You know, sometimes it's hard when you first arrive on a different team like that. But I feel like a veteran like that knows how to do it. There's so many nice people around the locker room to welcome him. It's just fun to be able to have a defenseman of that caliber and with that much talent."

Speaking from his own stance, Joseph added, "From a young guy's perspective, it's fun to be able to learn from this guy. He's been in the league for a long time. He's probably one of the best to ever play the game."

Yeah. And then there's Pettersson, who'd have the best sense of anyone in the room about what Karlsson means back in their native Sweden, where he was just awarded the Victoria Prize this summer as the nation's top athlete. It was presented to him in a ceremony by King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia:

“He’s practically royalty himself over there," Pettersson would say. "I mean, meeting the King and Queen over there is pretty big. But the influence he has, especially on young players in Sweden, it means so much. He’s been such a good player for a long time.”

And now ...

“Yeah, he's here. It’s a great privilege for me, personally, to have a countryman like that to play with. And for our team ... "

Bit of a pause, then, "We had a lot of talent before. I remember walking into the locker room for the first time and seeing everybody and going, ‘Holy f---, there’s a lot of guys that I’ve seen growing up and admired.’ And now there’s this guy, too. It’s awesome.”

There'll be honors for Karlsson in this hemisphere someday, too, notably one in Toronto. But before that, and beginning on this very day, the clear aim is a certain other prize he's never won. The Stanley Cup.

I spoke one-on-one with Karlsson after this practice.

"I'm here to win," Karlsson said, followed by a glance around the room. "We have great players here. Everyone can see that. And that's why every player's here, to win. That's what every hockey player wants. I'm excited about this. Really excited."

And to achieve that, he'll need to do more than learn everyone's names. He'll need to assimilate -- on his own and through the coaching staff -- with another legit elite defenseman.

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Letang was excited, too. Meaning with the Aug. 6 trade that brought Karlsson to Pittsburgh. Kyle Dubas had broached the possibility of acquiring Karlsson with Letang beforehand as a gesture of respect, and Letang didn't hesitate.

"I thought it was unbelievable," Letang told me after this practice. "Every time you have a chance to bring in a guy of that caliber, especially with what he accomplished last year, it's incredible."

I mentioned to Letang, tongue in cheek, that being teammates with future Hall of Famers wouldn't exactly be a new experience.

“Oh, yeah, obviously, with having been with Sid and Geno for all that time, and now you get this type of guy in the room, it’s huge."

He grinned and added, "Just an example: This morning, I was just looking at what Erik was doing in the gym and I started asking questions. It’s fun to see another elite player and what he does to be successful, just asking and watching. It’s good for the young guys around our team, too.”

I then mentioned, tongue still in cheek, that he wasn't exactly the kind to worry about his place in any defensive hierarchy.

“Exactly. And you know, honestly, my game is different. I just plan on sticking with it. Obviously, we have a lot of new faces, so we’ll adjust to different things, different roles, different positions. It’s exciting.”

I asked Karlsson about all this in the reverse, including wondering if maybe Letang -- who's never won the Norris -- isn't sufficiently respected around the NHL:

“I think he does have the respect around the league, at least amongst the players," Karlsson replied. "You know, I’ve known him for a very long time from various events and stuff. It’s going to be nice to get to know him on a personal level. But everything I’ve heard and everything I’ve observed and seen from afar, he’s nothing but a great, hard-working, dedicated guy. It’s going to be fun to be teammates.”

And might it help Karlsson that, upon being traded from Ottawa to San Jose in 2018, he had to share time/duty with a fellow Norris winner in Brent Burns?

“I don’t know. We’ll see. Any experience is good experience. I’m just excited to be here. It’s going to be fun to play with a lot of good players. Tanger is one of them. I’m curious to see how far we’re going to go.”

Mike Sullivan wasn't about to delve into personnel and strategy on Day 1 of camp, but there might've been a few tells from the practice itself: Letang was paired with Ryan Graves, who'd switch out with tryout defenseman Libor Hajek. Karlsson was paired with Pettersson and the aforementioned Lee. And from a broader scope, Letang was placed on Crosby's team, Karlsson with Malkin's.

I could be hugely overreaching here, but that'd appear to put Karlsson second on the depth chart, even if it's strictly numerical.

In reality, those two will log so much ice time that the third down on the right-handed defense chart -- Chad Ruhwedel? -- might as well serve as the doorkeeper by the bench.

And then there's the power play ...

"Ha! Right!" Letang would respond when I broached that by asking if there'd be enough pucks for everyone. "Yeah, of course, of course. Maybe we just need one guy who’s going to be a little bit selfish, who's going to shoot the puck."

Pure gunner?

"Exactly. Finding the recipe will maybe take time. Maybe not. We just have to make sure we have a goal in mind and to get better.”

First things first, though.

"For me," Karlsson would say, "it's to get to know everybody. That's been the nice part. I knew about these players from afar, but this is different. And it's been fun."

"We all just need to get to know each other, as players, as people," Letang would essentially echo. "That's always important."

Sullivan was superb on this subject, as it relates to Karlsson.

"Obviously, we have such an appreciation for his body of work as an NHL player and what he's been able to accomplish," Sullivan began. "In my discussions with Erik leading up to the potential trade and since we've had him, I've really grown to gain an appreciation for how competitive he is. And in his desire to win a Stanley Cup. That's something that he's talked with us a lot about. He's had the same conversations with Kyle. And that's important to us. That's the priority in our locker room, as well."

He appeared to give that additional thought, then continued, "I always thought he was a competitive guy just by the nature of how he plays the game, but after getting to know him on a personal level ... you get a better opportunity to see the drive. And the desire to win. That's been evident already in our short time with Erik."

Next came a smile and, "The other thing I'll tell you is that he asks an awful lot of questions. He is one inquisitive guy. Our coaching staff, we joke about it, but we really appreciate that. Because he's engaged. He's engaged in the learning process. He's intrigued by ... whether it's tactics or strategies or even logistical things ... he's engaged."

Another smile.

"We have a number of guys like that. Our captain's very much the same way, and I've always admired that about Sid. And actually we have a number of guys like that. Erik will fit right in."

And still somehow stand out, I'm betting.