Friday, January 17, 2014

Should the Pens trade Kris Letang?

So since the Penguins don't have another game until 2015, I decided to touch on the highly talked about topic around Pittsburgh and give my two cents, Kris Letang and his contract.


So let me just start out by saying, I like Kris Letang. Kris Letang is probably as valuable on the Penguins as Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Why you ask? Well Rob Rossi said it best, because Letang is offensive minded and as fast as he is, players like Crosby and Malkin can flourish with a player like Letang because he can get the puck moving north and Crosby and Malkin can get to work. He is as good as a skater as anyone in the league, and he's one of the fastest, especially among defensemen. So what makes half of this fanbase hate Letang?

Some of the cons of Kris Letang are that he's not as sound defensively as a guy who makes $58 million (or $7.25 per year STARTING NEXT SEASON) should be in the eyes of many. One thing I take away with that is, who cares? Not every defenseman can be a shut down guy like Chara. You have to have parity in your defenseman, otherwise gameplanning around them would be easy. If all of your defenseman were 6'4" 220, your D are going to get smoked by players like Tavares, Stamkos, Ovechkin, and Giroux. Having a guy like Letang keeps the other teams honest knowing that he can join a rush at any time.

Another argument I hear all the time is "Letang turns the puck over too much" but where is that crowd when Niskanen or Orpik commit the same turnover, especially Orpik. Letang usually makes up for his mistakes by making some unreal defensive play or atleast uses his speed to pressure the forward into taking a quick shot or force a pass. Sometimes when the play does breakdown, Letang does have a mental lapse and he will leave a guy open or miss an assignment or get caught up ice on a rush, but what player doesn't have those lapses? Sidney Crosby might be the smartest player in the league, and even he makes mental mistakes from time to time. 

Another thing people forget, Letang is only 26 so he's not even to his prime yet, and his 8 year deal will take him through his prime years. 

I was listening to 93.7 the fan today, and Mueller and Starkey had some guy (I forget his name to give him credit) from Wilkes-Barre on their show and they were talking about Simon Despres and the Letang discussion came up. The WB guy said something like this about Letang.

"Kris Letang is one of the best offensive defenseman in the NHL, that alone makes him valuable. His game is still growing and he could still develop into a very solid player at both ends of the ice. Players who are great at both ends of the ice end up in the Hall of Fame, players like Letang score a lot of points, make All-Star games, and still help teams win Championships and have changed the NHL. If Letang doesn't develop into a solid defensive player and still sometimes makes mistakes, he still is a valuable asset to your team and you can handle the bad because of the good that you know he will bring your team"

My last point to the people who complain about his contract. Do you guys realize what the Salary Cap will go to in a couple of years? Letang's salary, especially when he enters his prime will look like a steal.

So the question of should the Penguins trade Kris Letang, my answer is no. No matter if he develops into a solid defensemen at both ends of the ice, or remains the offensive guy he is, he's still one of the best players on the Penguins and I will take the bad moments because with every bad play he makes, he's bound to make atleast 2 good plays to make up for it.

I can't wait for the Olli Maatta-Kris Letang pairing in a couple years, might be one of the top pairings in NHL history.

Go Pens.

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