The Penguins had a feel-good year, even if it ended in playoff disappointment against Philadelphia. Many of their young players took big steps in their development, and the team defied expectations and age to reach the postseason. But it wasn’t all roses and rainbows, as one of the Penguins’ older stars continued to see his play decline.
Kris Letang has been a member of the Big Three in Pittsburgh since breaking into the NHL in 2006-07 and is likely a future Hall of Famer. However, the 39-year-old isn’t the player he once was, and the Penguins need to have a serious conversation with him this summer to establish a role for next year that allows him to maximize his current abilities.
Pittsburgh deployed Letang as a top-four defenseman this year, playing him nearly 22 minutes a night in heavy minutes, including time on the penalty kill and the second-unit power play. The competitor in Letang no doubt loved that, but the results were inconsistent at best and downright dreadful at times.
This isn’t a new development either, as Letang has seen his play decline in consecutive seasons, posting the worst numbers in takeaways and turnovers of his career. Offensively, his numbers have also slipped: he posted just three goals and 27 assists in 74 games last year, for 34 points.
Analytically, Letang’s numbers have also declined, with his Corsi and Fenwick shares both falling below 50% in consecutive seasons for the first time in his career. In fact, his decline has become so glaring that Penguins head coach Dan Muse has sheltered Letang in a way he hasn’t before.
But as poor as Letang’s season was, he is still clearly an NHL defenseman and has the skill set to age gracefully well into his 40s as an NHL regular. In the last few games of the playoffs, Letang was phenomenal. However, in the first three games of the playoffs, he was a trainwreck. Therein lies the challenge Pittsburgh has with Letang.
The Penguins need to have a very hard conversation with Letang about several issues, mainly his style of play and his role in the hierarchy. Letang still plays the game as though he’s a 28-year-old in the prime of his career, forcing offense when it’s not there, pinching at inopportune times, and making high-risk plays.
28-year-old Letang had the skating, strength and speed to recover from his mistakes a decade ago, but that is no longer the case, and there has been no adjustment from Letang.
The Penguins have had three aging veterans to contend with in Letang, Evgeni Malkin, and Sidney Crosby. While Crosby has defied the aging curve, Letang and the Penguins need to confront a reality they’ve been avoiding.
The Penguins can add defensive depth, as they have in recent years, but Pittsburgh needs a top-four right-shot defenseman to allow Letang to drop down the lineup to the third pairing. This would help Letang better manage his workload and role and perhaps extend his career.
Letang obviously means a lot to the Penguins, but do the Penguins want to go hunting for a top-four right-shot defenseman at a time when they’ve made it clear they’re looking towards the future? It’s possible that GM Kyle Dubas could swing a trade for a young top-four defenseman who has perhaps underperformed on their current team, but historically, such players are among the most expensive assets to acquire.
Would the Penguins do it simply to shelter Letang? The answer is maybe, but there would certainly need to be a long-term benefit if Dubas holds to his wish to look to the future.
The other major question mark in Pittsburgh concerns Malkin, who is a UFA in under two months. If “Geno” goes unsigned, do the Penguins go to Letang and offer him the chance to play elsewhere?
There are no indications that either side is interested in that, but would a Malkin exit open the door for Letang and the Penguins? It’s not likely, but it is an interesting thought.
However, if the Penguins re-sign Malkin, keeping Letang makes the most sense. The team should have an honest conversation about his play and how best to use him. Letang is a warrior who has played through injuries, personal tragedy, and enormous pressure, and it’s not necessarily his fault that Pittsburgh leaned so heavily on him last season.
If Pittsburgh were to find another top-four defender, it would likely limit Letang’s responsibility in the transition game, which should reduce his turnovers and perhaps alleviate some of the defensive lapses as well, given that Letang’s recovery speed isn’t what it used to be. Also, as previously mentioned, the reduction in minutes and the level of competition would drop, adding additional benefit to both the player and the team.
It’s hard to say how a personal conversation like that would go with Letang, but it’s likely the Penguins’ best course of action to get him to buy into their plan (if reducing his usage is the plan). The Penguins owe Letang some degree of loyalty, but at the end of the day, it is a business, and Kyle Dubas is paid handsomely to ice the best team he possibly can.
And if the plan is to maximize Crosby’s remaining elite years, the Penguins can’t afford to allow an aging defender to hurt them defensively simply because “he used to be great.” Dubas wasn’t there for Letang’s elite years and isn’t going to make his decisions based on past accomplishments.
There is a fine line between respecting a veteran and hesitating to move on, a trap that teams often fall into. GMs who are unemotional about this tend to be the best at assembling a competitive roster year after year (the Vegas Golden Knights, for example). That’s not to say the Penguins need to dump Letang, but they need to honestly evaluate the entire situation.
If Letang is open to a smaller role, that’s the best-case scenario. If he still sees himself as a top defenseman and intends to play that way, the Penguins have to seriously consider whether employing him in their top four makes sense going forward.
Great teams and players know when to evolve, and in this circumstance, both Letang and the Penguins have to do their best if they want to return to a winning culture.
Stevie Y is on the case
This is the most intelligent article on Letang and Penguins situation I have read yet to to date thank you.
The rebuild hand writing is on the wall, Pittsburgh should have started that process as soon as Dubas arrived, And, As much as the Pens thought they were competing this past season, They were 41, And, 41 in the regular season, And, they one two playoff games, And, In reality, Making the playoffs is NOT an accomplishment, Crosby won’t leave the Penguins, But, The rest of the old vets have value on the open market with the exception of Letang.
yea well everyone knows they should have started the rebuild earlier than that. Penguins ownership repeatedly vetoed it
I was banging the drum on this site for a rebuild four years ago now. (And it wasn’t that “everyone knows” it should have happened; I’ve taken a lot of heat for the stance over the years.) If management had done it, I wonder how many more rounds Pittsburgh would’ve gotten this year. But instead, they had just as much pain those three losing years as if they’d done the rebuild.
Most would agree with you, but with Sid taking a discounted salary, wanting to stay & still playing at an elite level, it would be difficult to put him through a rebuild.
This is a very reasonable take by the author. If Letang is amenable to a more specialized role, there is every reason to hold on to him. But star players are often the last to know that they are no longer stars. If I’m Muse and Dubas, I talk to Letang sooner rather than later and find out what he wants in terms of playing time and what he’s willing to change to stay in Pittsburgh. And if he isn’t willing to adjust, then move him.
As good as Letang is and has been, and as much as an icon he is in Pittsburgh, he’s not a star to the level that Sid is, and he’s not the lovable face of the city that Geno is. Both the team and the city would be sad to see Letang play elsewhere, but they’d get over it relatively quickly compared to if Malkin left… and Crosby isn’t going anywhere.
So I say work on acquiring a top 4 defenseman regardless of Letang’s preferences, and meanwhile lay down some ground rules for a Letang return and see how he reacts. To me he’s a different situation in terms of bargaining power than either Sid or Geno; while the 3 get grouped together and rightly so, Letang is arguably the least necessary for future Penguin success.
Everyone has cap to burn this off season it would be a good time for pits to trade some of these aging guys retained and jump start a rebuild
Letang has long been scapegoated by Yinzers. Perhaps getting him a decent left-side d man would help. One he can play with long enough to actually become a team. Gerard has not been good. Kulak and Letang started gelling but then Kulak was traded. Letang has given enough to the Pens to retire there is that’s what he wants. He has the same number of rings as Sid and Geno. All 3 deserve some respect.
Respect, sure; fawning deference, no. If either Crosby or Malkin had declined to Letang’s level, no one would be suggesting that they still highlight the top six all the same. Father Time is undefeated (and frankly, I’m kind of appalled that Letang didn’t retire following his *second* stroke, never mind the *heart surgery* — he’s got a family, damnit). If he won’t accept sheltered third pairing minutes, then they have some decisions to make.