The Pittsburgh Penguins won the hotly contested Erik Karlsson sweepstakes this summer. They acquired the reigning Norris Trophy winner in a three-team trade with the San Jose Sharks and Montreal Canadiens. Karlsson's arrival sparked a ton of excitement among the fanbase. And new signing Ryan Graves is also feeling that excitement.

Graves spoke with the media during the NHL's BioSteel Camp in Halifax recently. The former New Jersey Devils blueliner couldn't hold back when talking about what Karlsson brings to his new team.

“You're adding the reigning Norris Trophy champion. He had an historic season last year and he was unbelievable on a San Jose team that struggled. He was virtually like all of their offense. So, adding a piece like that is super exciting,” Graves said, via NHL.com.

Graves joined a Penguins team who had a massive chip on their shoulder already. Pittsburgh missed the 2023-24 Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since the 2005-06 season. With a new general manager at the helm, the team is looking to return to postseason hockey.

And as Graves alluded to, Karlsson is coming off a historic season. The 33-year-old scored 25 goals and 101 points for the Sharks. He turned in the first 100+ point season by a defenseman since Brian Leetch did it with the New York Rangers in the 1991-92 season.

Overall, Graves is just excited to get going with a clearly motivated Penguins group. And he believes Karlsson's arrival can help him play to the absolute best of his abilities.

“Especially for a guy like me that's a left-handed shot and a defense-first kind of D-man, you never know who you're going to play with, but even if it's not your partner, things get shuffled, and you get shifts with guys,” Graves said, via NHL.com. “I think it's cool to have a guy like that around and he's going to make our team much better.”