The Pittsburgh Penguins decided to keep Kris Letang around for six more years and it's not off to a great start.
PITTSBURGH - The no doubt biggest story that surrounded the Pittsburgh Penguins this past offseasons was how they would approach new contracts for Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
Both are getting up there in age and while the production might still be there, do the Penguins want to take that kind of risk?
The answer was yes, but a split yes; many believed that if general manager Ron Hextall could only retain one guy it should be Letang.
After all, Letang’s position as right-handed shot, top line defenseman would be harder to replace and he was coming off of a career year in 2021-22.
With a new six-year contract worth $6.1 million annually, the Penguins were confident in Letang’s abilities and rewarded him handsomely.
So far in his first year of the deal, though, it looks like something needs to change with Letang.
While he’s still playing well north of 20 minutes each game, Letang hasn’t looked good defensively and is yet to produce on the power play.
Through 15 games of the season, Letang is averaging 23:56 of time on ice each night and without a goal sits at a -10 rating.
The plus/minus number usually isn’t a stat that should be taken seriously unless it’s egregious, but this is egregious with Letang.
A -10 is good to to put Letang near the bottom of the NHL in that category.
If the numbers didn’t improve for the rest of the season, a -10 would the the lowest of Letang’s career.
Beyond the numbers, Letang has been failing the eye test, too.
Being caught out of position, passing up on shot opportunities, and having no points as a power play trigger man, Letang’s struggles as of late have been noticeable.
Would cutting back his ice time have an impact on his play? It’s possible, but sheltering the minutes of the guy you just signed to a six-year deal is less than ideal.
The Penguins brought Letang back to be one of their leaders and things need to improve.
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