Should the Pens consider dealing Letang?

[Harvey Birdman]

I think a part of the problem, or maybe THE problem is the usage of Letang. We've all beaten the fact that he's had neck surgery, to death, which is no small injury by any stretch. But the team uses him like he never had the surgery at all and that he's not rusty. Where's the easing him in part of this?

The guy is playing 25-26mins a night, while adjusting back to playing at those minutes in every situation.

That's just ridiculous.

What I would like to see with Letang is him being used as the top guy on that second power play unit. And its not because I think Schultz deserves it over him right now, but he needs some time to figure out his game with the pretty and ugly parts of it. And Having him on that 2nd power play unit gives him a place to refind his game with minimal chance of it blowing up in his or the teams face.

Unit 1:
BL: Schultz
LC: Kessel
RC: Malkin
Low: Crosby
Net: Hornqvist

Unit 2:
BL: Letang
BL: Maatta
LC: Rust
RC: Sheary
Low/Net: Guentzel

Past that, now that our blueline is about to be healthy with Schultz back and Hunwick almost back the logged minutes needs to be flattened out as much as possible till that Letang that takes over games from the back end comes back for a handful of games in a row then you can start ramping up his minutes closer and closer to those insane 30 min loads Letang used to do.

 

[Honour Over Glory]

It just has to do with trusting the rest of the blue line and let Letang play less, for now. It's infuriating to see that if Letang wants to play a ton, they just give him the minutes even though he's been very inconsistent for the season and has been negative for his defensive partners game too. You'd think logically, they'd just minimize his minutes here or there and rely on the rest of the team's defense, otherwise why even bother with them if you can't play them a min or 30 seconds more here and there, right?

 

[edog37]

If Letang gets hurt and misses all of/most of the playoffs again, then I think they should seriously consider moving him. That is the only legit scenario where I would think it's an idea worth considering.

If he gets hurt, his trade value goes down exponentially...

 

[Mr Jiggyfly]

If he gets hurt, his trade value goes down exponentially...

Naturally it does, but that is the only realistic scenario where I can see JR wanting to move him.

Guys like Letang are rare commodities in this league and only a desperate GM trying to change his team's fortunes is going to move a player like him.

JR is far from desperate or in that type of scenario.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

I think part of the problem is also the other D-men needing to readjust to having a true, blue No. 1 defender. All of the defense seemed to thrive in the playoffs last spring with the shared responsibilities. Granted, Daley is now gone and Hunwick wasn't here then and is hurt now, but I think part of the issue is that the defensemen we now have (aside from Letang) bring something different to the table and have a role to play. And that works better when they all share the load, rather than play behind a true No. 1. AND, I really don't think Letang would thrive with fewer minutes as one member of a committee approach.

It's an interesting phenomenon.

 

[Gurglesons]

I think part of the problem is also the other D-men needing to readjust to having a true, blue No. 1 defender. All of the defense seemed to thrive in the playoffs last spring with the shared responsibilities. Granted, Daley is now gone and Hunwick wasn't here then and is hurt now, but I think part of the issue is that the defensemen we now have (aside from Letang) bring something different to the table and have a role to play. And that works better when they all share the load, rather than play behind a true No. 1. AND, I really don't think Letang would thrive with fewer minutes as one member of a committee approach.

It's an interesting phenomenon.

Is consistently getting out shot and out possessed really "thriving"?

I think the main issues are overall defensive issues from the forwards down, Schultz and Hunwick being injured and Letang completely overthinking every second of every game like he has admitted to.

I also think asking our team's most competitive player after maybe Hornqvist and Crosby to tone it down because of putting himself in precarious situations is part of the reason he is overthinking.

This is why I hate when people say Letang has no brain. That's never been his issue, it has always been overthinking plays.

 

[Jag68Sid87]

Is consistently getting out shot and out possessed really "thriving"?

I think the main issues are overall defensive issues from the forwards down, Schultz and Hunwick being injured and Letang completely overthinking every second of every game like he has admitted to.

I also think asking our team's most competitive player after maybe Hornqvist and Crosby to tone it down because of putting himself in precarious situations is part of the reason he is overthinking.

This is why I hate when people say Letang has no brain. That's never been his issue, it has always been overthinking plays.

He overthinks five-on-five and on the PK. He has no brain on the PP.

 

[Peat]

Right, but THAT'S also part of the concern too. It's not like we're dealing with sci-fi put 'em in the bacta tank ****.

But, like I said, I see the pros to keeping him. I'd just like to see more discussion about when/if we would trade someone like Letang.

The discussion is probably best had when not at the beginning of the new season when things are going gloopy. It looks incredibly knee-jerk right now which doesn't help, and there's also some really big questions that you have answers to at the end of the season but not right now.

 

[Gurglesons]

He overthinks five-on-five and on the PK. He has no brain on the PP.

I mean, then Crosby and Malkin have no brain because they consistently make the same high chance high risk plays that never work.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

I think part of the problem is also the other D-men needing to readjust to having a true, blue No. 1 defender. All of the defense seemed to thrive in the playoffs last spring with the shared responsibilities. Granted, Daley is now gone and Hunwick wasn't here then and is hurt now, but I think part of the issue is that the defensemen we now have (aside from Letang) bring something different to the table and have a role to play. And that works better when they all share the load, rather than play behind a true No. 1. AND, I really don't think Letang would thrive with fewer minutes as one member of a committee approach.

It's an interesting phenomenon.

There hasn't been a lot of significant struggling from the rest of them and some of that is most likely effort in the RS vs the playoffs. They haven't been perfect but they weren't during the run and the forwards have some guilt in that. Maatta looks better now than in the run, Cole looks the same but hasn't been attached to Schultz as much, Dumoulin has had some problems but had problems to start last season and Schultz has looked really good. If anything the biggest problem is when anyone is on the ice with Letang. Maybe they're annoyed that they won the cup without him and it immediately became Letang playing a lot of minutes regardless of performance, idk. Schultz at least can't be happy watching Letang on PP1.

Letang struggling with reduced minutes is interesting and I wonder if it would also piss him off. I'd still like to see it tried because he's so fragile.

 

[PensPlz]

Letang is playing not to get hurt. His next injury may be his last. He's going to take time to learn to adjust his game and how he plays it and get back to a high level of play that also allows him not to be broken every year.

Should we deal him? Like all things, depends on the return.

Will we? No. Better chance he'll ride out the last couple years of his contract on LTIR, and then us signing a replacement from FA, rather than us trading him.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

Yeah, a guy like Letang doesn't seem like the cerebral sort that's going to see reduced minutes as a way to hone his game and fix his deficiencies. I wouldn't be surprised if he saw it as a demotion and got frustrated and it f***ed up his game even more.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Yeah, a guy like Letang doesn't seem like the cerebral sort that's going to see reduced minutes as a way to hone his game and fix his deficiencies. I wouldn't be surprised if he saw it as a demotion and got frustrated and it ****ed up his game even more.

he saw reduced minutes in periods 2 and 3 in the last game and it was the best hockey he's played all year by a country mile.

 

[Gurglesons]

Yeah, a guy like Letang doesn't seem like the cerebral sort that's going to see reduced minutes as a way to hone his game and fix his deficiencies. I wouldn't be surprised if he saw it as a demotion and got frustrated and it ****ed up his game even more.

Sometimes, I wonder if anyone likes Letang on this team with the way they talk about him.

 

[Peat]

Sometimes, I wonder if anyone likes Letang on this team with the way they talk about him.

I think going back in time to when we learned that Letang wouldn't be playing in the play-offs would answer that. Or the various main forum threads where we point and laugh at claims that Letang isn't a top 10 D.

That some people are also quite brusque about his his failings as a hockey player doesn't mean they dislike him as a player, it means that they're quite brusque about hockey players' failings...

 

[EightyOne]

Letang is playing not to get hurt. His next injury may be his last. He's going to take time to learn to adjust his game and how he plays it and get back to a high level of play that also allows him not to be broken every year.

Should we deal him? Like all things, depends on the return.

Will we? No. Better chance he'll ride out the last couple years of his contract on LTIR, and then us signing a replacement from FA, rather than us trading him.

Explain how having your back to the puck and play when it's in front of your goalie or how pinching and stranding your fellow defenseman is helping him avoid injury...

..cause that's the infuriating shit he is doing. He isn't shying away from checks. He's just had terrible positioning and decision making.

I feel everyone is a trade chip at any time. I don't think he should be traded. I don't think any GM takes on his risk either, anymore.

 

[canadianguy77]

Sometimes, I wonder if anyone likes Letang on this team with the way they talk about him.

What does "like" have to do with anything? We're fans of the TEAM. If there's a move that people think will make the TEAM better, they're going to want to do it.
I really don't get fans who put an individual player ahead of the TEAM's success.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

It's not about like versus dislike. That's such a cop-out. It's about a guy making more than $7M/yr that regularly misses 25 or so games a season, and is wildly inconsistent when healthy. Letang is a problem, and if he can't find a way to stabilize his game to be at his best much, much more often (and stay healthy), JR should explore his options. Letang is a luxury, not a necessity, and I think it'd be in the team's best interest to move him and restructure the blueline so as not to be built around a linchpin with Letang's glaring issues (health, inconsistency).

No one is arguing that this team isn't better when Letang is at his best. The problem is that he's injured or playing several levels below what he's capable of far, far too often.

 

[Ogrezilla]

Wildly inconsistent is a massive overstayement. Letang at 80% is worth every cent of his contract. He plays 3 or 4 games a year most years, at most, where he plays like he isn't worth that money. So do hedman and burns and Duncan keiyh. This year has been an anomaly in that sense. This is the worst stretch of hockey he's played that I can remember. And his last game was a marked improvement.

 

[chethejet]

Letang was extended by Shero as the Pens had no one to replace him, they made a projection on the cap which would decrease the hit and thirdly, he was a core player at that time. But like all things conditions on the ground or ice in this case change things. He is still the best player on D but not irreplaceable. Yet we all know he is going no where.

 

[ColePens]

I feel like so many people have the wrong perception of Kris Letang. Time to debunk some of this garbage:

1) "Letang is stupid!'

No... the guy makes risky plays. You can call the plays he makes stupid, but that doesn't make him stupid. The reasons could be because he's too confident in his skills, not confident enough, hesitating, trying to be superman, etc. I think his biggest weakness is that he cannot simplify his game because he has this feeling he has to be a star every night. It's his biggest weakness. That doesn't make him stupid. I just don't think he handles the pressure of being a #1 in the best way. He feels like he has to be Superman and probably loves it when he's Superman and it works. I feel like he's a guy who loves that attention and wants it. It probably kills him to be left off Team Canada.

2) "Letang isn't worth his cap hit!"

You are dead wrong. This is a common misconception I constantly see all over HF. Letang is worth that market value. I'm sorry to tell you that. On the open market, that's what he gets paid. Simple. End of story. If you want to argue the Pens could spend the money a bit wiser, then come up with that argument.

3) "We could easily replace Letang!"

No.. no we could not easily replace Letang. We saw how that went and it wasn't easy on our way to a Cup. We made it work with rentals and players playing far beyond their real talent. But replacing Letang will be just as hard as replacing Sid/Geno. You can massively credit Schultz for what he's doing and make an argument for it, but easily replacing letang is not a thing. But you COULD make an argument or a hypothetical situation where we can replace him with a semi-equal talent if available.

And remember - the replacing player has to be available. The one situation I could argue is Doughty hits UFA, Pens get him, and could easily move on from Letang. That type of scenario is not easy. We need the perfect storm to hit for the right cap hit. And we need a team, now on Letang's list, to want him and have cap space.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Wildly inconsistent is a massive overstayement. Letang at 80% is worth every cent of his contract. He plays 3 or 4 games a year most years, at most, where he plays like he isn't worth that money. So do hedman and burns and Duncan keiyh. This year has been an anomaly in that sense. This is the worst stretch of hockey he's played that I can remember. And his last game was a marked improvement.

His stroke season was shit... before he had the stroke. Pre-preseason knee/groin injury to start off the mess. This is probably worse but that season was a disaster for him.

 

[Ogrezilla]

His stroke season was ****... before he had the stroke. Pre-preseason knee/groin injury to start off the mess. This is probably worse but that season was a disaster for him.

Disagree. Bad for his standards? Sure. But he was still a very good player that made us a better team.

 

[Speaking Moistly]

Disagree. Bad for his standards? Sure. But he was still a very good player that made us a better team.

I said this year was worse but he was borderline at best for making them a better team that season. From my memory he didn’t start the season healthy, made poor decisions with the puck, got hurt again, struggled to return to form from that and then had a stroke.

 

[xxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

It's easy, but disingenuous, to say "we can't replace Letang, look at how bad our blueline was last spring." Yeah, it was in shambles, but we also didn't have either the return Letang would bring or the cap hit freed up to spend on shoring up the weaker points of this roster.

I just can't understand how people are satisfied with Letang's pretty glaring shortcomings because he plays fantastic a small fraction of the time. /shrug