I have closely followed hockey for decades and I cannot remember a more polarizing Penguin than Kris Letang. Well, if you had any lingering doubts about where I stand, put those to rest. Put me in the he is a stud who we are extremely lucky to have camp.
Letang was awful last year, there’s no doubt about that. Completely awful. However, I think he had a legitimate excuse considering he was coming off a stroke and major neck surgery.
Also, he is injury prone – there’s no question about that. However, I think that just comes with the territory whenever you play so many hard minutes at that size. Nobody else really does that in the league. There are guys who play comparable minutes and there are guys who are his size, but strikingly few at that combination.
Still, it never ceases to amaze me how many people always seem to want to trade that guy. He leads the team in ice time year after year after year and he’s our best D in basically every situation. And yet, for some bizarre reason people often think it’s a good idea to get rid of him?
However, when I watch him play, for the vast majority of his career, he has been an awesome player for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Not just a pretty good player or even a very good player – flat out awesome! Honestly, I think he’s going to one day be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
He creates so many odd man rushes for Pittsburgh and breaks up so many dangerous chances going the other way, it’s unbelievable. However, he does it so routinely and so smoothly it seems a lot of people don’t seem to realize it.
Now, he is prone to mental errors, there’s no doubt about that. I’ve often compared him to Troy Polamalu because they are/were both high risk/high reward players in their respective sports. Letang is going to give away a goal or two every so many games and that’s just how it goes. Polamalu was going to get beat deep a few times each season and again, that’s just how it goes. That’s the price you pay for having such instinctive talents.
However, the risks of having a guy like that don’t even come close to outweighing the rewards.
I’ve just watched him a lot recently and have just marveled at how much better he is this year than last year. He looks like a completely different player and I think he, Crosby and Murray are the primary reasons for this resurgence.
Especially tonight, Letang just dominated in all three zones. We are very lucky to have that guy because there are not a handful of teams in the NHL that have a defenseman who can do that.
I think after Crosby and Malkin, Letang has been the third most important piece for the Penguins over the past 10–15 years and I just wanted to express my appreciation for his excellence. If he’s not the best defenseman in Penguins history, he’s definitely on the very short list.
Letang was awful last year, there’s no doubt about that. Completely awful. However, I think he had a legitimate excuse considering he was coming off a stroke and major neck surgery.
Also, he is injury prone – there’s no question about that. However, I think that just comes with the territory whenever you play so many hard minutes at that size. Nobody else really does that in the league. There are guys who play comparable minutes and there are guys who are his size, but strikingly few at that combination.
Still, it never ceases to amaze me how many people always seem to want to trade that guy. He leads the team in ice time year after year after year and he’s our best D in basically every situation. And yet, for some bizarre reason people often think it’s a good idea to get rid of him?
However, when I watch him play, for the vast majority of his career, he has been an awesome player for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Not just a pretty good player or even a very good player – flat out awesome! Honestly, I think he’s going to one day be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
He creates so many odd man rushes for Pittsburgh and breaks up so many dangerous chances going the other way, it’s unbelievable. However, he does it so routinely and so smoothly it seems a lot of people don’t seem to realize it.
Now, he is prone to mental errors, there’s no doubt about that. I’ve often compared him to Troy Polamalu because they are/were both high risk/high reward players in their respective sports. Letang is going to give away a goal or two every so many games and that’s just how it goes. Polamalu was going to get beat deep a few times each season and again, that’s just how it goes. That’s the price you pay for having such instinctive talents.
However, the risks of having a guy like that don’t even come close to outweighing the rewards.
I’ve just watched him a lot recently and have just marveled at how much better he is this year than last year. He looks like a completely different player and I think he, Crosby and Murray are the primary reasons for this resurgence.
Especially tonight, Letang just dominated in all three zones. We are very lucky to have that guy because there are not a handful of teams in the NHL that have a defenseman who can do that.
I think after Crosby and Malkin, Letang has been the third most important piece for the Penguins over the past 10–15 years and I just wanted to express my appreciation for his excellence. If he’s not the best defenseman in Penguins history, he’s definitely on the very short list.
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