The Pittsburgh Penguins managed to land Erik Karlsson in a massive three-team trade with the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens, giving interim general manager Kyle Dubas his first defining move in his short stint with the team. This deal seems like a home run for the Penguins, but before he pulled the trigger, Dubas wanted to make sure that veteran defenseman Kris Letang was on board with the trade.

Letang has spent all 17 seasons of his NHL career with the Penguins so far, winning three Stanley Cup championships with the team. However, with the addition of Karlsson, Letang's role with the team could diminish slightly, which is why Dubas checked in with him. Dubas quickly found out that Letang was solely focused on winning, giving him the green light to complete the deal for Karlsson.

“I'm never looking for approval. Being in Kris' spot, you're looking for, ‘This is what we're thinking, Kris. Here's how we see it working.' Just so we have an idea for where he's at. Unsurprisingly with Kris, it was very clearly, ‘Whatever is going to make us better and help us win.'” – Kyle Dubas, NHL.com

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Letang was fully onboard with trading for Karlsson, who is fresh off winning the third Norris trophy of his esteemed career. The addition of Karlsson figures to help the Penguins find their way back to the playoffs after missing out on them for the first time in 16 years last season, and with Letang on board, it looks like Pittsburgh has one of the best defensive units in the league.