It appears Kris Letang will be spending the next eight years in Pittsburgh after agreeing to a new contract, Sunday morning before the draft.
Per RDS correspondent Renaud Lavoie, Letang, who was a Norris Trophy finalist after the lockout-shortened season, is close to agreeing on an eight year, $58 million contract extension. There is also a no-trade clause limited to fifteen teams.
The 26 year old finished tied for first place in points (38) with PK Subban among defensemen despite playing in seven less games. Letang was also second in the playoffs in scoring before being held off the stat sheet in a four game series loss to Boston in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Kris Letang was the 62nd pick in the 2006 draft and has amassed 209 points in 385 regular season games. While his talent is elite-level, Letang has had mental lapses during Pittsburgh’s biggest games. He is viewed as the most talented defenseman on the team but he was not the best defenseman during large portions of last season.
After Evgeni Malkin agreed to a contract extension two weeks ago, Letang was viewed as a trade commodity during the NHL entry draft. That seemed to be amplified after Chris Kunitz signed an extension last week. Ray Shero divulged that he had received phone calls from other GM’s, but it seemed pretty clear the main focus was on keeping the star defenseman. In the end, Letang may be staying in Pittsburgh, which means Pascal Dupuis will likely be let go unless he takes a huge hometown discount.
Photo courtesy of CBS Sports
