Kris Letang is quite the conundrum. He is a franchise legend who has won 3 Stanley Cups, battled through two strokes, has overcome a history of migraines, heart surgery, and multiple injuries including a few concussions and even a career threatening surgery on his neck. He is also 38 years old with 3 years remaining on his contract at a high price of $6.1 million average annual value.
He’s a heart and soul guy that would provide great depth for a contending team, even if it is as the 7th defensemen on the roster. But he’s also playing higher in this depleted Penguins line up than he should at this point in his career and with where this franchise is at right now.
Pittsburgh needs to rebuild. They’ve been in contention for the final spot or two in the playoffs for a handful of years now – sometimes getting into the playoffs, sometimes missing out. But with reports last week that Evgeni Malkin won’t be offered a new contract after his current deal expires after this season, it is now clear that GM Kyle Dubas is getting ready to enter a full on rebuild.
The Penguins reportedly will not offer Evgeni Malkin a contract extension, making the 2025-26 season his last in Pittsburgh, per @JoshYohe_PGH
— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) June 16, 2025
End of an era 🐧 pic.twitter.com/7aL0af39wH
Dubas spent his first year in Pittsburgh trying his luck with middle-aged players hoping that he could make one or two more legitimate playoffs runs during the Sidney Crosby – Malkin – Letang lead core’s final few years. But during his second trade deadline at the helm, Dubas shifted his attention towards restocking the cupboard in terms of acquiring draft capital to add prospects to a depleted farm system.
With the news of Malkin’s time coming to an end, it’s clear that he will be another trade chip for Dubas to play with this spring in hopes of getting another first round draft pick and/or a young prospect back in return. It also brings forth the question of what to do with Letang.
Kris Letang has a full no-move clause, so finding a trade partner would be difficult, if not impossible due to his cap hit. Contenders are almost always at (or over… thanks LTIR) the cap and the Penguins shouldn’t try to retain any of his salary. Yes, the cap is going up dramatically over the next few years, but they need to keep the flexibility needed to be able to go after a wide variety of players over the next few seasons. Buying him out would essentially prolong a similar situation, eating away at valuable cap space the team could use to secure a true number one goalie, a new top pairing defenseman, or for a top line winger that Crosby hasn’t had since the Jake Guentzel trade in spring of 2024.
In my personal opinion, knowing that Malkin is as good as gone, I feel as though the Penguins should wait out Letang’s final few years in Pittsburgh. I say this knowing that my personal belief is that he’ll retire before his contact is officially over. He’s been through so much in his career, and I doubt he’ll want to stick around for 3 years of declining team play as the focus of the franchise shifts to a new youth movement.
Though it’s tough to say and tough to accept, the Penguins are about to enter a huge transition period that will see some of our favorite mainstays be traded or retire. And we should be okay with that as long as the youth movement plays out with more hits than misses. The Pens certainly have a lot of draft capital right now and there should be more to come as Dubas moves on from the current core.