Saying that Dumoulin or Harrington would be a better fit next to Letang right now than Despres is kind of baffling to me.
Firstly, I am talking hypothetically (because I don't think Nisky is going anywhere this year, and certainly at least not until Scuderi is back or at the deadline at the earliest), so you can argue it's a moot discussion.
That being said: Dan Bylsma, IMO (because I said the same thing myself a couple of years back) was somewhat correct that Despres *might* project as a great partner with Letang. Where I think he was off, however, was the timing. Sure, Despres in 2-4 years could be a great partner with Kris as he works he way up the ranks, but suggesting these 2 would be good together now is not only putting the cart before the horse, but it is completely contrary to what we saw many times last year (aka Letang looking grossly uncomfortable with Simon as his partner).
You want more proof? Look no further than the Scuderi signing. Rob wasn't brought in to play on the 3rd pairing, he was brought in to play the role like he played with Doughty, or a consolation prize for the role that Suter would have played had we been successful in signing him.
I see Despres' evolution (to put it succinctly) into 3 primary stages: 1) the stage where he's at now, as Hyne's said in that artice that was recently posted about Despres needing to maintain focus and stabilize his game (aka the stabilization period). 2) Despres, once he has that down, starting to take some chances selectively and seeing how far he can play within himself and skill set (the experimental or growth phase). And 3) the part where he's got #1 and #2 down and is able to pu that all together (the "playing & developing a complete, all-around game phase).
Despres is a fine player, no doubt, but he's got some things to work on, and I just think that his trajectory and rate of development/evolution is just at a different pace than some of the other players we're talking about. It's not an indictment of him, and it doesn't mean that he may not still have a higher ceiling. It may simply mean he could need some more time and effort to get there. Harrington, Maatta, and Dumoulin, OTOH, all have more "complete games" than Simon at this point, which is why they may have surpassed him, in some resects, at least perhaps for the time being.
Just my 2.5 cents on the matter. And also, given that Despres had his chance last year and is currently being outplayed by Dumoulin, it would be nice to see the latter get a few cups of coffee with the big club this year so he'll have all the more experience and preparation to draw from as he moves forward with his development.