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Might be about that time to extend Kris Letang |
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The Penguins are looking to end their five game western road trip with a victory over the Vegas Golden Knights this evening. As of right now they have two wins and two losses on the trip with their most recent outing being a 2-1 overtime victory over the San Jose Sharks.
Notable from that game was the fact it was not Tristan Jarry in net for the first time in five games, but Louis Domingue making his first start of the season. Domingue did not mess around. He made 40 saves in an impressive performance to earn the Penguins the win. While I don’t think Domingue is the long term answer as the backup this season he provided something DeSmith has rarely done this year and that is play great.
Despite all the winning the Penguins have been doing they haven’t really been making up ground in the standings and remain a wild card team at the moment. The top of the metropolitan Division has been crazy this year. The fact this team won ten in a row and now 12 out of the last 14 and are a wild card team highlights the craziness. Imagine where they’d be if they didn’t do that.
The Vegas matchup tonight doesn’t hit quite the same way it did in previous years. Marc-Andre Fleury is no longer a Golden Knight which takes away some of the intrigue.
Let’s talk a little more about Kris Letang who had a goal and an assist in the 2-1 win over San Jose. He continues to pile up points at what could be a career best number. He now has 3 goals and 32 points in 33 games. While he might not set a career high in goals (16) he is looking like a decent enough bet to set a career high in assists (51). He is on pace for 80 points in an 82 game season. It would best his career high (67) by 13 points. Last year I had concerns that the points were hiding a player *potentially* in decline as the underlying numbers were uncharacteristically low in 2020-21. He is a 54.00 xGF% player at the moment and is playing great hockey.
When you look ahead to Letang’s contract situation it is becoming more and more obvious you just go ahead and pay him. When you look around the league and what players like Letang are going for you won’t come close to getting anything comparable to Letang for what the Penguins will likely pay. Just follow the John Klingberg situation. Not only will teams have to give up assets to acquire him (potentially as just a rental), but they are going to have to buck up and probably give him seven years to sign for an AAV almost guaranteed to be higher than what I believe Letang would accept from the Penguins.. Believe it or not Klingberg is already going to be 30(!) next season and I feel like I can’t be the only one who thought he was in the 26 or 27 year old range.
The Letang contract is going to be a risk, but I don’t see how it is a risk the Penguins can afford to not take. If he leaves the team would effectively be putting up the white flag for whatever is left of this era. Rumor has it Letang wants five years. I’m not in love with it, but Letang is a fitness freak and if that can lower the cap hit below what he is currently making (or worst case have it be the same) then you kinda have to do it. What is the other choice? Letang is having a career year in a contract year and is a UFA. Somebody will buck up. Furthermore, I think Jim Rutherford opened the door a little for Letang to move on considering how he would ice him publicly and seemingly make Letang twist in the wind, for... reasons? The Penguins might have some mending to do there.
The only higher end players available are going to be approaching 30 looking for long term deals (for higher money than 58) or they are going to be younger and the Penguins are the 29th ranked prospect team in the league with no ammo to put together a legit trade offer. Make a deal with the devil you know and don’t let Letang hit the free market.
Thanks for reading!
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