Kyle Dubas was very clear in his season-ending media availability on Monday: The Penguins needs more than they're currently getting out of Erik Karlsson.
"I had a long meeting with Erik on Friday," Dubas said. "My push to him would be that his actions have to match his ambitions. That's in consistency, preparation, training, like every other player on the team."
Seemingly calling into question Karlsson's efforts in those areas so publicly like Dubas did can come off like Dubas taking "a shot," or an indication that Karlsson isn't someone he wants back next season. But really, Dubas' words come off so much more as an effort to motivate a player he knows can be part of taking the Penguins back to being a contender. A general manager doesn't have much to gain by saying a player's "actions" haven't been up to par if he's trying to trade that player in the near future.
The good news, it seems, is that Dubas and Karlsson are on the same page here. Karlsson knows that this season wasn't his best work.
"Personally, I think it's been lots of ups and downs," Karlsson reflected on his season at the team's locker room cleanout day last week. "Little too volatile than you would have liked, would have liked to kept a little bit more consistency throughout the season."
That word "volatile" is a good way to put it. Karlsson led the team with 140 giveaways this year, one of only two players to have at least 100. He had a comfortable lead in that category over Kris Letang, who ranked second with 100 exactly. Now, Karlsson is obviously an offensive defenseman, and with that comes inherent risk. If you want him to be the playmaker he can be and produce the way he does, turning the puck over at times is going to be an unfortunate side effect. But this year was a lot for even Karlsson. Those 140 giveaways worked out to a rate of 4.41 giveaways per 60 minutes of ice time, the worst of his career by over a full giveaway. That's in stark contrast to his previous season rate of 2.14, the best of his career.
Mike Sullivan said that with Karlsson, the "biggest thing" they need from him still is that game-to-game consistency. But he thought there was still a lot to like about Karlsson's season as a whole.
"Erik has elite talent. He's an elite player. He makes a handful of plays every game that most players can't make," Sullivan said. "I think there were moments this year when he was so impactful, both offensively and defensively. I think his defensive capabilities may fly under the radar screen, but he's very capable. He's hockey strong, he's mobile when he closes on guys. He can be a very effective defending defenseman, his offense speaks for itself."
Karlsson did have a good season offensively -- 11 goals, 42 assists in 82 games. He scored two of those goals and 13 of his assists on the man advantage, and was otherwise a part of the Penguins' power play as a whole turning around, whether he was on the first or second unit. He attempted more shots (24.87 per 60), had more shots reach the net (11.09 per 60) and created more rebounds (3.9 per 60) than any other defenseman the Penguins used this season, helping to create the necessary movement the Penguins lacked in the previous season.
"The power play made a huge leap from from last year," Karlsson said. "I just think we needed a little jolt of something, and we got it, we got off to a good start and never looked back."
Karlsson still has two more years remaining on his contract that carries a $10 million cap hit and has a full no-movement clause. Dubas has been reluctant to put a real timeline on the Penguins' long-term plan for returning to long-term, sustained contention for the Stanley Cup, but his take on Karlsson on Monday divulged that he expects Karlsson to be part of that solution.
"My view would be that we expect (Karlsson) to be one of the people that pulls us from where we're at and into contention," Dubas said. "He showed throughout the year that he has another level to him, at times playing for us, certainly playing for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, he was a player that you would watch and say this guy can help any team not only contend, but probably win."
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THE ASYLUM
Taylor Haase
9:00 pm - 04.22.2025Cranberry, Pa.Karlsson admits need for more consistency
Kyle Dubas was very clear in his season-ending media availability on Monday: The Penguins needs more than they're currently getting out of Erik Karlsson.
"I had a long meeting with Erik on Friday," Dubas said. "My push to him would be that his actions have to match his ambitions. That's in consistency, preparation, training, like every other player on the team."
Seemingly calling into question Karlsson's efforts in those areas so publicly like Dubas did can come off like Dubas taking "a shot," or an indication that Karlsson isn't someone he wants back next season. But really, Dubas' words come off so much more as an effort to motivate a player he knows can be part of taking the Penguins back to being a contender. A general manager doesn't have much to gain by saying a player's "actions" haven't been up to par if he's trying to trade that player in the near future.
The good news, it seems, is that Dubas and Karlsson are on the same page here. Karlsson knows that this season wasn't his best work.
"Personally, I think it's been lots of ups and downs," Karlsson reflected on his season at the team's locker room cleanout day last week. "Little too volatile than you would have liked, would have liked to kept a little bit more consistency throughout the season."
That word "volatile" is a good way to put it. Karlsson led the team with 140 giveaways this year, one of only two players to have at least 100. He had a comfortable lead in that category over Kris Letang, who ranked second with 100 exactly. Now, Karlsson is obviously an offensive defenseman, and with that comes inherent risk. If you want him to be the playmaker he can be and produce the way he does, turning the puck over at times is going to be an unfortunate side effect. But this year was a lot for even Karlsson. Those 140 giveaways worked out to a rate of 4.41 giveaways per 60 minutes of ice time, the worst of his career by over a full giveaway. That's in stark contrast to his previous season rate of 2.14, the best of his career.
Mike Sullivan said that with Karlsson, the "biggest thing" they need from him still is that game-to-game consistency. But he thought there was still a lot to like about Karlsson's season as a whole.
"Erik has elite talent. He's an elite player. He makes a handful of plays every game that most players can't make," Sullivan said. "I think there were moments this year when he was so impactful, both offensively and defensively. I think his defensive capabilities may fly under the radar screen, but he's very capable. He's hockey strong, he's mobile when he closes on guys. He can be a very effective defending defenseman, his offense speaks for itself."
Karlsson did have a good season offensively -- 11 goals, 42 assists in 82 games. He scored two of those goals and 13 of his assists on the man advantage, and was otherwise a part of the Penguins' power play as a whole turning around, whether he was on the first or second unit. He attempted more shots (24.87 per 60), had more shots reach the net (11.09 per 60) and created more rebounds (3.9 per 60) than any other defenseman the Penguins used this season, helping to create the necessary movement the Penguins lacked in the previous season.
"The power play made a huge leap from from last year," Karlsson said. "I just think we needed a little jolt of something, and we got it, we got off to a good start and never looked back."
Karlsson still has two more years remaining on his contract that carries a $10 million cap hit and has a full no-movement clause. Dubas has been reluctant to put a real timeline on the Penguins' long-term plan for returning to long-term, sustained contention for the Stanley Cup, but his take on Karlsson on Monday divulged that he expects Karlsson to be part of that solution.
"My view would be that we expect (Karlsson) to be one of the people that pulls us from where we're at and into contention," Dubas said. "He showed throughout the year that he has another level to him, at times playing for us, certainly playing for Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, he was a player that you would watch and say this guy can help any team not only contend, but probably win."
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