Erik Karlsson excited to help elevate Penguins back to Stanley Cup contention

While only a brief comment made in passing, it offered a glimpse into the mind of new Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson.

Karlsson, soon after arriving in Pittsburgh as the centerpiece of a blockbuster trade that saw him acquired from San Jose, met with reporters Wednesday afternoon at PPG Paints Arena.

Fielding questions about a variety of matters, Karlsson said he “found a joy in the game again” last season with the Sharks.

Although San Jose went 22-44-16, missing the playoffs for the fourth straight year, Karlsson put together one of the most brilliant campaigns by a defenseman in NHL history, producing a career-high 101 points (25 goals, 76 assists) en route to capturing his third Norris Trophy as the league’s top blue liner.

What’s more, Karlsson, whose time with the Sharks was hampered by injuries, played all 82 games for the first time since 2015-16 with the Ottawa Senators.

On Wednesday, the 33-year-old Karlsson sounded like a man reinvigorated.

“First off, I’ve been healthy for a longer period of time now,” Karlsson said. “I think that really showed and made me feel a lot better about myself in a lot of different ways. I think that my personal life and my kids and my family’s in a good place and kind of settled a little bit.

“ … I had a lot of fun playing hockey last year, and coming to the rink every day, even though it wasn’t under the easiest of circumstances and we didn’t win very many games.”

Karlsson also detailed what the last few months have been like as he emerged as a trade chip for the Sharks.

Complimentary of how San Jose general manager Mike Grier handled the process, Karlsson said he had limited insight into how things developed.

Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas, who viewed acquiring Karlsson as an assertion of the Penguins’ ability to win now with the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, proved to be among the final suitors standing.

While the road to the trade was not without twists and turns, through persistence and some late-in-the-game help from the Montreal Canadiens, Dubas got the deal over the goal line Sunday.

“Once the ball started to roll, once the Stanley Cup Playoffs were over, it came down (from) a lot of interest to only a few teams that were possibly going to be able to do it,” Karlsson said. “Pittsburgh was one of them.

“I was very excited about the opportunity to have a chance to go somewhere where I could be on a team (where) we’re contending.”

Karlsson joins the Penguins with a familiarity of Crosby, Malkin and Letang from various All-Star games and activities over the years, as well as from his tenure in Ottawa (2009-18), where he began his NHL career.

After the 2017 Eastern Conference Finals, Karlsson, then the Senators’ captain, was praised for his sportsmanship in the handshake line after the Penguins eliminated Ottawa in Game 7, offering congratulations to Crosby.

Karlsson, a native of Landsbro, Sweden, also knows fellow Swede Rickard Rakell, plus two of the Penguins’ other new additions, Lars Eller and Matt Nieto, the latter of whom Karlsson played with in San Jose last year.

As far as items pertaining to Karlsson’s ice time, defensive pairings and power-play role, those will all be illuminated more clearly in the months to come.

But for now, Karlsson is happy to be a member of the Penguins, a team he believes he can help re-elevate to Stanley Cup contention.

“The players that they’ve had here for a long time are still really good players,” Karlsson said. “I’m really excited to step into that group and learn a lot of things and also at the same time, hopefully, bring some new things and help them become even better.”