It was always going to be interesting on how the Penguins would assemble their powerplay units after acquiring Karlsson this past summer in a blockbuster deal with the San Jose Sharks. It is no secret that Karlsson and Letang are both powerplay specialists and it has been decided that the coaching staff wants to see how the two of them play together to start the season.
Karlsson is coming off a record breaking season putting up 101 points and winning the Norris trophy, while playing on a very poor San Jose Sharks team. He will now have the opportunity to play alongside the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, as they battle to win the Stanley Cup.
There are plenty of options on the table
Pittsburgh can choose to keep the two defenceman together to create an intriguing top powerplay unit or can split them up to create two dynamic units to keep the pressure on the opponents' penalty killing squads. The most important thing is to ensure that both of these offensive stalwarts have the opportunity to do what they do best - which is put up points.
