Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang signed a four-year, $14 million contract extension with the Penguins on Tuesday. Letang was set to become a restricted free agent at the end of the season. His new contract kicks in next year at $3.5 million per season.
“From an organization standpoint he’s been a really good fit for us,” Penguins general manager Ray Shero said. “We’re fortunate and lucky to have him tied up for the next four years.
“I think he’s one of the better young defensemen in the league. He’s a guy they’re going to continue to build around and he’s going to get better as a defenseman. He’s starting to show his leadership abilities on and off the ice.”
Letang said it was good to get the deal out of the way before the postseason, removing the distraction from his game.
“It feels great, to sign with a team like this,” Letang said. “I’m going to focus on one thing, and that’s playing hockey. I think the most exciting part is coming. I can’t wait for the playoffs.”
The newly-signed defender was asked if he took any sort of “discount” to remain in Pittsburgh.
“I want to be part of this team. I think it’s something special,” Letang said. “If you put the money aside, you always want to be in a town where you want to play, where every night you want to play. I think I’d rather stay here and have fun. We’re like a family now. We’re all young and growing together.”
With Letang now locked up for four more years, all eyes turn to Sergei Gonchar, who is in the last year of his deal and will become an unrestricted free agent after the season.
“This doesn’t affect Sergei at all,” Shero said. “This was part of our plan, to sign Kris Letang. I’m hoping we can have Sergei back. Hopefully after the season we can continue those discussions as well. Gonchar has been a fantastic player here for five years and hopefully we can have him for more.”
Both Shero and Gonchar indicated that contract talks are off until the off-season.
“Probably after the season, that’s what we talked about at the Olympics,” Shero said. “Maybe as we look closer to July 1, we’ll know about the salary cap. But our plan all along was to sign Letang and Gonchar. So hopefully things will work out with Sergei as well.”
“Ray’s been an honest guy since day one. So if he’s saying so, I believe him,” Gonchar responded to Shero’s comments.
Gonchar, who turns 36 in April, is currently making $5 million per season.
Shero talks about Pittsburgh's future prospects when it comes to defense:
Practice Roundup
Both Sergei Gonchar and Evgeni Malkin participated in Tuesday's practice. Both are still day-to-day, with coach Dan Bylsma saying they will be a game-day decision Wednesday against Tampa Bay.
Malkin has been battling a foot injury, while Gonchar has been dealing with an illness.
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