Kyle Dubas has officially made his mark on the Pittsburgh Penguins roster. The Penguins acquired star defenseman Erik Karlsson from the San Jose Sharks on Sunday in a three-team trade also involving the Montreal Canadiens. The deal came about after months of speculation and anticipation.

Pittsburgh has now loaded up and clearly signaled its intentions. They are going for it this season and want to win another Stanley Cup while Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are still around. However, acquiring Karlsson is the easy part. The real work begins in October, which Dubas acknowledged on Monday.

“There is a lot of work that needs to be done. Obviously, the team missed the playoffs last year, there's no dancing around it,” Dubas told the media Monday, via NHL.com. “We tried to supplement as best we can, and I know there will be lots of people that doubt the group and rightfully so.”

Indeed, the Penguins missed the playoffs last season for the first time in 16 years. The Florida Panthers claimed the last Eastern Conference playoff spot and made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Final.

Teams indicating their desire to compete for a Stanley Cup is nothing new. In fact, it's rather commonplace in all sports, not just the NHL. If the Penguins want to live up to their own expectations, there's only one group of people who can ensure that happens.

“We have to go out and prove it right from the first day of training camp and build to where we want to get to. I think the doubts are fair, I think the criticisms are fair. We have our belief and it's about us to go out and execute,” Dubas said, via NHL.com.