Should the Pens consider dealing Letang?

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cassius

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Jul 23, 2004
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I am a huge fan of the guy - he is hands down one of the best Penguins to ever wear the uniform, but the more I think about it... the more I think the Pens should consider dealing him.

Why the Pens should Consider Dealing Letang
  • They won a cup without him - lets not forget that the Pens took home a SC victory without Letang during the stretch run.
  • Injuries / Physical Decline - Letang's biggest strength is probably his athleticism, however, the guy has taken just a TON of hits over the past few years. Not going to rattle off his injury history, but it's extensive. He plays the game with reckless abandon and his injury history shows that total lack of self-preservation. His game will not age well.
  • Lack of Mental Game - I love the guy, but there is no denying he might have the lowest hockey IQ of any player to ever make $5M+ playing NHL hockey. In just the past 10 games, he's made more boneheaded plays than most d-men make in a whole season. As he gets slower and has to rely on more of his mental game vs. physical talents, this could be a big problem.
  • He's not a great PP QB - Schultz is better at quarterbacking the PP. Letang is OK at the PP, but isn't all that great.
Why the Pens shouldn't consider dealing Letang
  • He is still a top-20 d-man in the league - The guy has physical abilities that you simply cannot teach. He is one of the most gifted skaters in the league and can really help a team when he is playing well.
  • His value is low right now - If the Pens were to trade Letang, they would be lucky to get $0.75 on the $1.00. He is coming off a major injury and is leading the league in worst +/-. Not an optimal time to make a deal.
  • Lack of depth on defense - The Pens really don't have a young version of Letang waiting in the wings who can log 20 minutes a night. If they were to trade him, who would step up and log those minutes?
 

Ogrezilla

Nerf Herder
Jul 5, 2009
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Consider it? Sure. But we'll never get a return that makes it anywhere near worth doing. His health concerns are going to scare anybody interested from giving anything close to a fair return.

What we need is for him to get his shit together. Sullivan's top priority should be getting Letang back on track imo. If we have to play other guys more than we want to ease Letang back, so be it. I don't know what needs done. I don't know if there's an easy answer or what. Thankfully, that's not my job. Sullivan, Martin, Gonchar, and Letang need to figure it out though.
 
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Peat

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Jun 14, 2016
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No. He is, at his best, still a top 10 dman in this league. Considering his problems look confidence based more than anything else, he's likely to return to that. There is no realistic trade return that will make up for losing that.

The only time to consider trading him is if he reaches the point where he's a straight up salary cap dump. I suppose if you're damn sure he'll be a cap dump in two years but believe the team can dump him without paying to do so now, I guess it makes sense. But that's got to be the reason, not a bit of poor form and known flaws to his game that haven't stopped him being one of the best in the business.
 

Ogrezilla

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Jul 5, 2009
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Starts and ends with "Depends on the return."
The return is going to be a package of picks and prospects and maybe a middle of the road roster player or two to send salary back. With his health concerns, I just don't see anyone giving anything better than that. Likely not even that.
 

HandshakeLine

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Nov 9, 2005
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a bunch of teams would be thrilled take him. They just won't give up a return that makes us a better team in the process.

That's the rub.

But there's some truth to the idea of trading Letang- he's not going to be around forever so there's a point in which you will have to trade him, so if the package is good, by all means.
 

HandshakeLine

A real jerk thing
Nov 9, 2005
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No.

It'd be impossible to get fair value for him with his injury/health history.

But there's also a difference between fair value and good value. I'm not in the "Trade Letang" camp right now, myself, however I think this is a huge misnomer. We're never going to get the absolute fairest value back, unless we're super lucky, but a good value doesn't have to be that fair as long as the package back has some things of quality.
 
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Empoleon8771

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Aug 25, 2015
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To trade Letang, you have to:

A. Be confident that Maatta, Dumoulin and Schultz can be good top-4 defensemen for you for the long run
B. Get back a top-4 or top-2 RD in exchange for Letang

I'm not worried about A, I think Maatta is well on his way to reestablishing himself as a #2 and Dumoulin-Schultz is a great 2nd pair. I'm concerned with B. Who would trade a defenseman on par with a guy like Trouba for Letang? Maybe you can get a defenseman like Tanev for Letang, but does that really help the Penguins?
 

HandshakeLine

A real jerk thing
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Letang will retire a Penguin. I'd be shocked otherwise.

I really don't think so, unless he's going to take a massive paycut and has announced his intentions to the management.

I really don't expect any of them to retire as Pens for their entire career, except for MAYBE Crosby. And that's still hedging a bit.
 

Ogrezilla

Nerf Herder
Jul 5, 2009
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To trade Letang, you have to:

A. Be confident that Maatta, Dumoulin and Schultz can be good top-4 defensemen for you for the long run
B. Get back a top-4 or top-2 RD in exchange for Letang

I'm not worried about A, I think Maatta is well on his way to reestablishing himself as a #2 and Dumoulin-Schultz is a great 2nd pair. I'm concerned with B. Who would trade a defenseman on par with a guy like Trouba for Letang? Maybe you can get a defenseman like Tanev for Letang, but does that really help the Penguins?
Yeah, I just don't see how we can trade him without getting worse.
 

Empoleon8771

Registered User
Aug 25, 2015
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IMO, the only way trading Letang would make sense is if you're considering it a positive to get him and his cap hit off the team.

The issue with this line of thought is what are you even going to do with that cap space? The Penguins really don't have the assets to bring in another top-4 RD, unless they strike gold again like they did with Schultz.

Trading Letang really doesn't make sense at all, but I could at least see a justification for it if the Penguins could pull off a good #3 RD who's cheaper, and that's if the Penguins don't see Letang recovering from the neck injury.
 

Ogrezilla

Nerf Herder
Jul 5, 2009
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I really don't think so, unless he's going to take a massive paycut and has announced his intentions to the management.

I really don't expect any of them to retire as Pens for their entire career, except for MAYBE Crosby. And that's still hedging a bit.
I would also expect Letang to end up retiring a bit earlier than most due to health concerns. I wouldn't be at all surprised if this is his last contract.

As for Malkin and Crosby, I just completely disagree. Maybe Malkin plays a farewell tour in Russia. But neither Sid nor Geno will ever play for another NHL team.
 

Ogrezilla

Nerf Herder
Jul 5, 2009
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The issue with this line of thought is what are you even going to do with that cap space? The Penguins really don't have the assets to bring in another top-4 RD, unless they strike gold again like they did with Schultz.

Trading Letang really doesn't make sense at all, but I could at least see a justification for it if the Penguins could pull off a good #3 RD who's cheaper, and that's if the Penguins don't see Letang recovering from the neck injury.
which is why I am completely against trading Letang.
 

HandshakeLine

A real jerk thing
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As Peat said, the only way trading Letang would make sense is if you're considering it a positive to get him and his cap hit off the team.

Again, though, this all depends on the package coming back, the needs of the club, and their own internal ideas about how Letang fits going forward. It's way too black and white the way you and Peat are presenting it now.

Think about it this way-- what if he doesn't? Then what do we do? And when do we cut bait?

The issue with this line of thought is what are you even going to do with that cap space? The Penguins really don't have the assets to bring in another top-4 RD, unless they strike gold again like they did with Schultz.

I mean, hopefully, the team doesn't just go "welp, Letang's gone, better go sign us the most overpriced defenseman on the market!" But filling that hole IF Letang is gone IS a lot easier with cap space to work deals or sign UFAs or trade for parts. I'd just rather they do that in the off-season than in December, if that's the way they go in a few years.
 

Ogrezilla

Nerf Herder
Jul 5, 2009
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Again, though, this all depends on the package coming back, the needs of the club, and their own internal ideas about how Letang fits going forward. It's way too black and white the way you and Peat are presenting it now.

Think about it this way-- what if he doesn't? Then what do we do? And when do we cut bait?

The package coming back will be crap. It will be futures and cap space at best. So unless we think we can get better with the cap space, I just don't see how it's a good deal.
 

Gurglesons

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Dec 18, 2009
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Again, though, this all depends on the package coming back, the needs of the club, and their own internal ideas about how Letang fits going forward. It's way too black and white the way you and Peat are presenting it now.

Think about it this way-- what if he doesn't? Then what do we do? And when do we cut bait?



I mean, hopefully, the team doesn't just go "welp, Letang's gone, better go sign us the most overpriced defenseman on the market!" But filling that hole IF Letang is gone IS a lot easier with cap space to work deals or sign UFAs or trade for parts. I'd just rather they do that in the off-season than in December, if that's the way they go in a few years.

Letang deal is likely a 1st, a prospect and a roster player.

There isn't any combination of that that is realistic and will improve our team.

Not to mention the fact that we would have to then go about replacing him. Which for what Letang brings on his good nights is costing at least a 1st, an excellent prospect, and a Rust / Sheary.

It would be tremendously stupid to trade Letang and this thread is stupid HF board overrection at its best.

Letang is the worst player on a team bleeding goals, lacking depth in both their defense (because of injury) and forward.

I also like the fact that for some reason Maatta and Dumo are both being ignored as issues. Dumo has 0 points and is a -9. Maatta has found his offensive has but has gotten worked on goals in the last three games.
 
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Jag68Sid87

Sullivan gots to go!
Oct 1, 2003
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I would love to find out what Marc Bergevin would be willing to give up for Letang.

I know he's a right defenseman and not a left defenseman, and Montreal is clearly in the market for the latter, but Bergevin and Canadiens ownership seem to be on a mission to save face right now. Adding a Montrealer and Stanley Cup winner would be viewed locally as a major coup (NO MATTER what they surrender in return). Also, they have the cap space to pull it off and would also need to spend it to save face with the fans.

If Bergevin would be willing to deal his 2018 first, plus Galchenyuk and a young defenseman like Mete or Juulsen, I think you have to pull the trigger. Basically, we're talking about the return that Joe Sakic is hoping for in exchange for Matt Duchene.

Anything less, and I agree with the notion that Letang's value isn't high enough right now to deal. Wait for him to start playing well again, then see what's out there.

JR is never afraid of the bold trade, and this season he just might have to make one of those.
 
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