Penguins Sign Letang to an Extension

The Penguins have signed all-star defenseman Kris Letang to a six-year-extension today. The total contract is for $36.6 million, with an average annual value of $6.1 million.

“Kris epitomizes what it means to be a Pittsburgh Penguin,” general manager Ron Hextall said when announcing the deal. “The role he plays on our team is irreplaceable, he is a leader in our locker room, and has made countless contributions to the organization over the last 15-plus years, which includes three Stanley Cup Championships. We are thrilled to make him a Penguin for life.”

Count me among those who didn’t think we’d ever get a deal done, at least not until recently. But Letang traded off salary for term to remain in the ‘Burgh.

Also count me among those who feel this signing is critical if the Pens wanted to avoid an immediate crash and burn. Although underappreciated at times by the black-and-gold faithful, he’s one of the best defensemen in the league. As I wrote in a recent article, he does so many things well. In addition to quarterbacking the power play and driving the transition game, he hits and blocks shots…all with a feisty edge. Echoing Hextall’s sentiments, there’s just no way to adequately replace all the things he does.

At age 34, he enjoyed arguably the finest of his 16 NHL seasons in 2021-22, tallying career-bests in assists (58), points (68), even-strength assists (38) and hits (171). His decision-making seemed to improve. Overall, I thought he let the game come to him rather than trying to force high-risk plays as he has in the past.

Hopefully, those trends will continue.

The contract term? Certainly a concern. How will Letang perform as he ages? Will his ultra-heavy workload finally catch up to him?

On the sunny side, Hall-of-Famer Chris Chelios led the league in plus/minus and finished second in the Norris Trophy voting at age 40…which is how old Letang will be when his contract expires. Given Tanger’s superb conditioning, there’s every hope he’ll follow a similar skate track.

With Letang in tow and $15.3 million in cap space to work with, Hextall can now set about the task of building a team around No. 58 and captain Sidney Crosby. Signing Evgeni Malkin would seem to be the immediate priority, although Hextall admitted in a recent interview they weren’t as close to securing the big Russian’s services.

Fellow UFAs Rickard Rakell, Evan Rodrigues, Brian Boyle and Nathan Beaulieu also remain unsigned. In addition, GMRH needs to determine whether he wants to extend qualifying offers to RFAs Danton Heinen and Kasperi Kapanen.

With Letang serving as the back line cornerstone for six more seasons, a restructuring of the defensive corps may also be a possibility. Marcus Pettersson and John Marino could be prime trade bait due to the value and length of their contracts. Moving one or both would also create a spot for Pierre-Olivier Joseph, a far cheaper option who appears to be NHL ready following a strong season at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Stay tuned.