Penguins Need a New Top Defense Pairing
The long-time Pittsburgh Penguins defense pair of Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin should be finished.
2022-23 was the end of an era in many different ways for the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was the end of their vaunted postseason streak dating back to 2007 and the end of the Ron Hextall and Brian Burke leadership group. It was likely the end of the Penguins' long-time top defense pairing too.
2022-23 Penguins player reviews continue with Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin.
Brian Dumoulin
It's always a question of how well a player will bounce back from a significant injury. It's even more uncertain when that player happens to be a 30+ year-old defenseman that made a career off of eating 25 minutes a night next to a mercurial two-way defender.
Dumoulin entered the final year of his contract looking to prove that he still has what it takes to be a top-pairing defenseman in the NHL. Unfortunately, what followed proved the exact opposite about the 31-year-old defenseman.
While there were stretches where Dumoulin looked like his old self, the overarching takeaway from his season is that he no longer possesses the skating ability or defensive awareness to lead a defense corps.
The Penguins learned that lesson the hard way, watching Dumoulin put up some of the worst underlying numbers of any defenseman in the league early in the season while playing alongside Kris Letang.
While the door isn't completely shut on Dumoulin returning to the Penguins, his days of being their top defensive defenseman are in the past.
Kris Letang
Letang's 2022-23 season was marred by well documented off-ice struggles that have him as a finalist for this season's Masterton Award. His resolve off the ice paired with another impressive showing on the ice for the Penguins franchise defenseman.
He had his usual peaks and valleys throughout the season, partially due to playing with Dumoulin for the first 20 games, but he finished the year strong despite the revolving door of defensemen around him. Letang may have returned to earth after a career year in 2021-22, but he still proved his metal as someone who can lead this blue line.
2022-23 served as a transitional year for Letang, likely shedding his wingman from the past eight seasons in Dumoulin and playing more with Marcus Pettersson and PO Joseph.
While the Penguins were in the mix on top left-handed defenseman Jakob Chychrun at the NHL Trade Deadline, the slew of other holes to fill this offseason could put that spot on the back burner. Letang still has what it takes to handle top-pair responsibilities and minutes. The only question will be which defenseman will be next to him next season.
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