What We Learned: How far can Karlsson take the Penguins?

Well, it's done.

After weeks of speculation and nearly as many weeks knowing to a certainty that Erik Karlsson was going to be a Pittsburgh Penguin, Erik Karlsson is a Pittsburgh Penguin.

But the Penguins missed the playoffs last year, as did the team Karlsson came from, and one has to wonder exactly what the Penguins have purchased, albeit at a staggeringly low price. The only things of value to the organization they really gave away were a first- and second-round pick; all the NHL players they traded were guys they were likely happy to be rid of for one reason or another.

Karlsson is the reigning Norris Trophy winner, the first defenceman in decades to eclipse 100 points in a season, and yet adding him to the mix in Pittsburgh, while a definitive upgrade, by no means assures the core group