Pittsburgh Penguins: Kris Letang is having the best season of his career
The Pittsburgh Penguins are getting the best they’ve ever seen from defenseman Kris Letang.
To some Pittsburgh Penguins fans, defenseman Kris Letang is an enigma. Some choose to begrudge him for the occasional turnover or the questionable decision with the puck. I am not one of those people.
With Justin Schultz sidelined until February, head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant coach Jacques Martin have relied on Letang more than ever this season. His average time on ice per game is nearly 26 minutes, which is among the highest in the NHL.
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Through 30 games, Letang has responded with what is arguably the best season of his 13 year NHL career. Let’s take a look at some of Letang’s numbers. With Letang on the ice this season, the Penguins are controlling 56 percent of the shot share at even strength. Only nine defensemen are controlling territory better than Letang in the entire league. If Letang can maintain this pace, it would be the best possession season of his NHL career.
Also, the Penguins generate 57 percent of the even-strength scoring chances with Letang on the ice. Stop me if you’ve heard this before – if the status quo continues the remainder of the year, this would also be a career-high for Letang.
As a result of generating so many shots and scoring chances, Pittsburgh is also scoring a whopping 62.5 percent of the even-strength goals when Letang is on the ice. That is the second highest mark of Letang’s career and is eighth best amongst defenseman in the NHL this season. A great process tends to lead to great results.
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In terms of counting stats, Letang’s 16 even-strength points this season rank seventh amongst all NHL defensemen. He is on pace for another career high (shocking, I know), 19 goals this season.
Many of the defenders that have played as well as Letang this season play for the Carolina Hurricanes, San Jose Sharks, and Tampa Bay Lightning. That trio of teams all have elite defense cores. The Penguins do not. I’d reckon that no other team’s success relies on one defender more so than the Penguins do with Letang.
Letang has clearly been the Penguins most valuable player this season. He recently broke a couple of Paul Coffey’s franchise records. Letang finally deserves the proper recognition for being an elite player for the past decade. He has a tremendous case for the Norris Trophy.
The Penguins appear to have dodged a bullet against the Bruins last Friday night. Letang left the game with an awkward collision in the third period. He is considered to be day-to-day with a lower-body injury.
That is a huge relief because the Penguins are relying on Letang and his partner Brian Dumoulin to be on the ice for nearly 30 minutes per night. Without Letang in the lineup, all of their defensemen are playing out of place.
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Here’s to hoping Letang can make a quick return. A significant portion of the Penguins recipe for success lies on Letang’s shoulders.
Thanks for reading!
All data courtesy of Natural Stat Trick.