NHL Rumors: Insider claims $36,600,000 Penguins franchise icon stays ‘unmovable’ regardless of questions surrounding his long run

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a unusual position as a franchise.

General supervisor Kyle Dubas is trying to retool his roster and get more youthful whilst the veteran core contributors of the group proceed to age. His objective is to have the Penguins go back to rivalry once conceivable, however as of presently, it is laborious to look that coming to fruition.

Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang have all reiterated their need to retire in Pittsburgh. While Crosby remains to be enjoying at a famous person stage, Malkin has handled accidents and a dip in manufacturing, and Letang has in point of fact began to combat.

On Tuesday, reporter Josh Yohe wrote a piece of writing for The Athletic and shared some attention-grabbing information about Letang’s long run with the group. He posted the hyperlink to the piece on X (previously Twitter).

“Several team sources, who were granted anonymity to protect personal relationships, said Letang and his play were the source of incredible frustration for head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant coach David Quinn this past season… First off, Letang has a full no-trade clause. It’s not entirely clear if Letang would be willing to waive his clause to play for another team. Penguins president and general manager Kyle Dubas probably couldn’t trade him even if he wanted to. Team sources said Letang is “unmovable,” Yohe wrote.

Letang has 3 years closing at the six-year, $36,600,000 contract extension he signed with the Pens in 2022.

The Penguins want to reduce the weight on Kris Letang subsequent season

The 2024-25 marketing campaign was once one of the crucial worst of Kris Letang’s illustrious profession.

The 38-year-old posted 30 issues (9 objectives, 21 assists) in 74 video games and had a -15 score. Those 30 issues had been his lowest mark for the reason that 2013-14 season, the place he performed best 37 video games.

His struggles had been painful to look at now and then, and in line with Yohe’s article, the Penguins consider decreasing Letang’s mins and probably striking him in a 3rd pairing position would make stronger his play. Whether the long run Hall-of-Famer can be prepared to cooperate is the large query and downside in that situation.

Kris Letang will virtually without a doubt stay a Pittsburgh Penguin heading into subsequent season. But if he does, there might wish to be some tough conversations between him and the group transferring ahead.