Early on Tuesday morning, word came down that the Penguins have extended blooming defenseman, Kristopher Letang, by four years. The deal is reportedly worth $3.5 million per season, which ends up being a $14 million extension and now the Penguins have another one of their core young players signed up for the foreseeable future, which is a definite plus for any young franchise.
Letang has set a new career-high in assists already this season with 24, but is a little ways from his best goal total. In 67 games, Letang has only 3 goals and 27 points, which isn't the greatest totals among defensemen, but he's proven that he's more valuable to the team than just his offense. He is enjoying his first season on the positive side of the +/- ledger, as a +3 through 67 games. With more and more ice-time, his numbers should improve on these, making him a much better player for the hockey pools and fantasy leagues.In the playoffs in 2009, Letang did have 13 points in 23 games and since we're nearing the year-end tournament, that might be something to definitely consider.
Now the Penguins are proud to have Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Chris Kunitz, Alex Goligoski, Kris Letang and Brooks Orpik for more than the 2011 season. The team's 2011 cap hit is still quite reasonable, sitting at $44.5 million for 14 players, including the core up above, which suggests that GM Ray Shero is a very shrewd businessman, as he should have more than enough money during this off-season to secure good depth to help out his core group of players. Incredible.
I'm not totally convinced that Letang's scoring is enough to warrant $3.5 million per season right now, but he definitely has the potential to grow into his contract. With the talent that the Penguins have surrounded Letang with, his numbers should increase drastically when the team leans on him more for quality special teams minutes. How nice would it be to be a key part of this team's core? Pretty special, if you ask me.
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