Kris Letang the Forward?
The Pittsburgh Penguins top six forwards are no longer the mentally intimidating group they were a few seasons ago. Age has begun to catch up with Chris Kuntiz; James Neal was traded, Jussi Jokinen signed with the Florida Panthers and Pascal Dupuis is returning from a serious knee injury. Penguins GM Jim Rutherford did manage to bring Patric Hornqvist and Nick Spaling to Pittsburgh in the Neal trade.
I am not alone in being less than confident in the Penguins projected top six. Most of the projections look a little something like this.
Chris Kunitz – Sidney Crosby – Pascal Dupuis
Patric Hornqvist – Evgeni Malkin – Beau Bennett
Frankly, Dupuis most likely will start the season on the top line, but it is not where he should play. I am confident that Kunitz and Hornqvist both will be productive top six forwards for this upcoming season. Beau Bennett is another player that worries me. If he has proved anything in his young and (potentially) promising career, it’s that he simply cannot stay healthy.
The media has been covering the Penguins plethora of NHL ready defensemen who are waiting for their opportunity. Jim Rutherford could give another defensemen a chance by experimenting with Letang playing right wing. Yes, I did just suggest playing Letang as a wing.
Kris Letang plays defense by trying to play offense, this aggressive style leads to turnovers, which lead to sloppy goals. His downright ridiculous offensive ability would make the change easy and would give the Penguins a proven scorer to take Dupuis’ place on the top line. Presently, Letang is considered one of the premier offensive defensemen in the league and rightly so.
If Letang continues to be a liability in the defensive zone we actually could see him switch positions.
As much as Rutherford will try to deny, the Penguins need a speedy top six forward. Letang is a fast, slick skating player who always wants to be play offensively, so why doesn’t Penguins coach, Mike Johnston, let him.
Just take a look at Letang’s offensive skill.
Frankly, he would potentially be able to post 80-90 points a year as a forward. All of the sudden his Letang’s bloated eight-year, $58 million dollar deal – per
– seems much more reasonable. Letang’s experience as a defenseman would also make him a strong two way forward who excels at backchecking.
Switching a defenseman to forward is not a foreign concept, take a look at Dustin Byfuglien on the Winnipeg Jets. Byfuglien has played both forward and defense and is quite effective in both roles.
The Penguins ownership hired Johnston to change things up and be able to adjust, let’s see it happen.