With the recent lockout the Cap was kept at $70.2m but for this season only from the coming season it goes down to $64.3m which is a $5.9m decrease or 8.41% decrease. This means that the cap is going to be tight next season and is less kind to bigger contracts so if the reports of Letang wanting $7m are true then it's going to be hard to fit that in. The increase wouldn't come into effect until the 2014-15 season and by then the cap could go up by a few million but currently with that increase without any additions Pittsburgh would have $24m in cap space to sign players in 10 positions at least and this is without any re-signings this season. So because of the teams stubbornness with regards to Fleury and their continual belief that he is the man we need it means that Letang could price himself out the 'Burgh. This lends the question as to what his value is and whether it'd be worth trading him or keeping him and giving faith to the prospects in our D pool that we have and making other moves to fit.
Letang's Value:
Letang is a successful player having won the Stanley Cup and this season he was a Norris finalist losing out to eventual winner, P.K.Subban. Letang isn't your typical shut-down physical defenceman as he plays a more offensive game than most #1 defenceman on other NHL teams. This doesn't mean that his defensive game is poor, it isn't, just that he is better going forward and could be classed as an Offensive Defenceman first and foremost. Letangs biggest attribute going forward is his body strength and ability to move the puck to someone in space.
On the other hand the biggest downside to Letangs game is that he seems to have lapses in concentration at times which tends to lends it hand to giveaways in the defensive zone and against teams such as the Boston Bruins that isn't something you want to be doing as they will punish you. Letang does also seem to struggle on the PP which is a surprise when he is often the QB and on the ice at the same time as Crosby and Malkin. Whether it's the pressure of being on the PP and that you have the feeling that you have to capitalise or if it's something else I'm not sure but he seems to struggle and keeping the puck in at times and gaining the team time in the zone.
The biggest thing that affects Letangs value is the fact that he is a Unrestricted Free Agent next year and there is always going to be a bit of uncertainty as to whether a team would be paying for a one year rental or if he would be happy to resign there at the $7m cap hit he is seeking. It's a similar situation to Jordan Staal last year in that respect. Staal was a year removed from becoming an Unrestricted Free Agent and his contract demands whilst at Pittsburgh of a 10 year, $60m deal meant that he was never going to be there past the following season. Pittsburgh where pushed to trade him and in return they got a high first round pick, a high end prospect and a bottom six roster player. That is something that I think could be similar to the return on any deal with Letang except I think you could upgrade that bottom 6 player to either a top 6 player or a top 4 defenceman.
Potential Trades and package deals:
Using the above suggestion that a deal should be a high pick a top prospect and a top 4 defenceman or top 6 player or something similar. There's a few proposals that I've seen bandied around that I think make for interesting viewing along with a few that I've put together and some that obviously are plain dumb. Below are what I think are the best ones;
Luca Sbisa + John Gibson + Emerson Etem: A fair deal that doesn't include a pick in this years draft. Luca Sbisa would be able to replace Letang on the top 4 whilst John Gibson could theoretically back-up Vokoun this season if the coaching team ever realise how bad Fleury is. Emerson Etem also gives Pittsburgh an offensive prospect which is an area that Pittsburgh are bare on. The biggest problem with this deal that I could see would be Letang's cap hit. If it comes in at $7m when signing a deal next season that would mean that they have 3 players in a similar ballpark (Ryan, Getzlaf, and Letang) and having $23m taken up by those three would be a hard pill to swallow. Especially when you factor in that Corey Perry is on $5.1m. Having a first line that expensive is a risk as it means that you have to compromise elsewhere by going for cheaper options who might not be as good as other targets that would've been available with more cap space.
7th Overall Pick + Ladislav Smid + Paajarvi: I don't think is a deal as good as the one with the Ducks but it's still an okay package as it meets our needs. We get a high first round pick in a deep draft by which we could draft a high end player with big offensive talent such as Nichushkin or a big D man such as Darnell Nurse. Smid is a physical defenceman and would be a good replacement on the bottom 4 for one of Niskanen or Eaton. He isn't an offensive defenceman like Letang but is more concentrated on his defensive game which is the type of player that Pittsburgh needs on the back-end. Finally, Paajarvi is a fairly quick and a creative player that would add some offensive depth to the Penguins wings. From the opposite perspective I think that this would be a good deal but it would be dependant on Letang signing a deal next year and I wouldn't be 100% that he would in Edmonton.
5th Overall Pick + Justin Faulk/Ryan Murphy + Jiri Tlusty: Carolina made good trade partners with Pittsburgh with regards to the Staal deal, so why not revisit them? Much like the Edmonton deal this includes a high pick and there is low possibility that one of Drouin, MacKinnon or Jones drops this low but it's highly unlikely. Even if they don't you could still select a top prospect at that number. Ryan Murphy is the Hurricanes top prospect and whilst he only played a few games for the Hurricanes last season he is a player who would be able to either step in straight away or spend a year in the AHL developing. Justin Faulk is a year older and had his first season in the NHL playing in 38 of the Hurricanes games. He is, like Letang, an offensive defenceman but isn't as strong on the back-end. So, unless the Penguins have someone in mind in free agency he could need a season before he starts repaying the deal to Pittsburgh. Finally, Jiri Tlusty had a great season with the Hurricanes and had a career high in points despite the shortened season. Tlusty is versatile and can play anywhere on the top 6 or potentially play on the bottom 6 and give some scoring depth. I think Letang would be happy to resign in Carolina, they have a lot of skilled players and if they can have a bit more luck with regards to injuries this season then they could get into the play-offs.
Keith Yandle + 12th Overall Pick: This is a deal that I've seen and one that would interest me the most. Yandle can immediately replace Letang on the top 4 and despite a $5.3m cap hit he would be cheaper than giving Letang a deal. I also think that he would improve our Defence as he brings a good physical game as well as a good offensive game and I have no doubt that he'd be picking assists for Crosby and Malkin. The 12th pick would also be a good pick this year despite it being fairly low down in comparison to the others suggested. This is a deep draft and you still have the potential to pick a top 6 or top 4 player up at that number. However, I see two problems with this deal. One is that It might be a slight over-payment from Phoenix and two is that I wouldn't be sure if Letang would sign there because of the doubt about if Phoenix will in fact be in Phoenix next year. Letang would become the #1 defenceman though and potentially the future face of the franchise which I think would appeal to him.
Should we keep Letang - If so how high should we go?
On a complete reverse from trading Letang we should remember that he is still a #1 defenceman and they are hard to come by. Not every team has a bonafide player who can rightfully claim that. The biggest asset that Letang brings to the team is that aside from Paul Martin there aren't any other defenceman who are that offensively orientated or can be relied upon to help up front, Letang can do this. With regards to his cap hit it's worth noting what other #1 defenceman such as Ryan Suter, Shea Weber and Duncan Keith make. Suter makes $7.53m, Weber $7.87m and Keith $5.53m. Chicago have gotten themselves a good deal with Keith and I would consider Suter and Weber to be better players than Letang right now but Letang has the potential to be as good as them. I think paying anything more than around $6.5m would be a problem when you compare the hits that some of the top defenceman have to what Letang is asking but you can see why he is asking for that.
Conclusion
In conclusion I think making the decision to trade Kris Letang would be a very tough thing to do and we should only do it if he refuses to move from his $7m cap request. That money could be used elsewhere to help with the depth and also improve the team in the long run by giving us more cap space in the future to allow to go after potential future free agents. Let me know what you think.
