Pittsburgh Penguins extend Kris Letang on six-year, $36.6M deal

The Pittsburgh Penguins will almost certainly be the only team Kris Letang ever plays for. The team announced a six-year, $36.6M contract extension for the star defenseman, keeping him away from unrestricted free agency and likely taking him through retirement. General manager Ron Hextall released the following statement:

"Kris epitomizes what it means to be a Pittsburgh Penguin. The role he plays on our team is irreplaceable, he is a leader in our locker room, and has made countless contributions to the organization over the last 15-plus years, which includes three Stanley Cup Championships. We are thrilled to make him a Penguin for life."

Letang, 35, will now carry a $6.1M cap hit through the 2027-28 season, keeping him the Penguins’ highest-paid defenseman. Still, that number is much lower on a per-year basis than what he could have landed on the open market, or even than the $7.25M he has carried for each of the last eight years.

The risk is, obviously, that Letang is already in his mid-30s and could at any point, see a drastic decline in his performance. That hasn’t happened yet, as he actually set a career high with 68 points this season, finishing seventh in Norris Trophy voting. For his career, Letang now has 650 points in 941 games, meaning he’ll reach the 1,000-game mark (and potentially the 700-point mark) if he stays healthy for the upcoming campaign.

Perhaps more importantly, this deal will not qualify for the lessened 35+ contract restrictions that were added in the 2020 CBA update. Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports the salary breakdown will be as follows:

• 2022-23: $8.0M
• 2023-24: $8.0M
• 2024-25: $6.2M
• 2025-26: $4.8M
• 2026-27: $4.8M

That front-loaded nature means that the full cap hit will be applied to the Penguins even if Letang retires before finishing the deal. While it gives the team some added flexibility in the coming years, it could very well be an anchor down the road.

The argument of course for the Penguins is that by then, Sidney Crosby will not be as effective (if he’s even still playing) and the team will no longer be trying to compete for the Stanley Cup. At that point, it doesn’t really matter if there is a large cap charge for a declining Letang, while the team goes through the inevitable stage of rebuilding. For now, this gives them the best chance at contending in 2022-23, the focus for Hextall and the new ownership group.