Penguins: Breaking down Kris Letang’s strengths and weaknesses

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is one of the best in the world at what he does when healthy.

According to the same rationale I used to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Jake Gunetzel, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is the 19th best defender in the NHL.

If you missed those articles, here’s are the links for the articles on Crosby, Malkin, and Guentzel.

In my opinion, 19th seems a little too low for Letting. He’s at least in my top 10. Here is the Twitter breakdown from @FauxCentre.

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The impact that Letang has on the Penguins generating offense and controlling territory is immense. Pittsburgh skaters consistently see an increase in production when they share the ice with Letang.

Let’s use the combination of Malkin and Letang as an example. In the 2018-19 season, Malkin and Letang played just 261 even strength minutes together. When they were together, the duo generated the slight majority of the shot attempts, shot share, and scoring chances. But when they were apart, Malkin’s numbers in these categories really dropped off.

In 2019-20, this duo played 364 even-strength minutes together. With a 103 minute increase, the duo performed at a dominant rate. Increased ice time with Letang led to an increase in production from Malkin.

Per Natural Stat Trick, Malkin was third in the NHL this past season in even-strength points per hour with 3.46. He was also second in the NHL in assists per hour with 2.21.

Now, Letang is not the sole reason for Malkin’s increased productivity. But his presence played a significant role in it. Quality of teammates matters for everyone. Even superstars. Letang makes the Penguins generational talents better.

Strengths

Controlled zone exits

Letang is a tremendous skater. There are not many NHL forwards that beat him to a loose puck. In this clip, his wheels are on full display. Matt Murray gives Letang a short and quick pass in the middle of Pittsburgh’s defensive zone.

Letang was alert enough to account for the two Wild forwards that were caught deep in their offensive zone. Letang absorbs a couple of wacks before pulling away and hitting Sidney Crosby in stride for a breakaway.

Note how Letang waits for Jared McCann to turn and generate speed prior to deciding on making the stretch pass. By staying patient, Letang gave himself an additional passing option. He didn’t go that route, but it drew some attention from the Bruins to McCann. Letang launches his pass through the neutral zone and in-between two Bruins skaters. This is likely the last goal Nick Bjugstad scored in a Penguins sweater.

Creative offensive zone entries 

Trailing 7-0 in this game, the Flames were likely zoned out late in the third period. Letang did not take his foot off of the gas. He entered the offensive zone with ease and had a trio of options. He opted to take the open ice and peel into the corner to send the puck down low.

Bryan Rust gathers Letang’s pass and picked up the secondary assist on a Jake Guentzel goal. Letang did not register a point on this play, but his decision and patience following the entry allowed Crosby and Guentzel to join the play.

This is abysmal neutral zone coverage from the Sharks. This may be one of the easiest zone entries I have ever seen. By my count least three defenders are gliding and just giving Letang the blueline.

Sharks defender Erik Karlsson is an elite offensive defenseman. He is caught backpedaling and is simultaneously tasked with trying to slow Letang down. Letang turns the puck to his backhand and roofs a shot over the glove of Martin Jones.

Offensive zone catalyst

Dominik Simon retrieved a loose puck and got it to Letang at the point. After receiving the pass, Letang has his head up during this entire sequence. Stars netminder Anton Khudobin was very aggressive.

In order to cut down the angle on Letang, he came out of the blue crease. Letang countered that with a great display of patience. Letang attacks the net and had Joe Pavelski and Tyler Seguin flopping around like fish out of water. Khudobin forgot to close the 5-hole and Letang found the opening.

This play encapsulates a few of Letang’s strengths. He closes ground and wins the race to this loose puck in quick fashion. From there, he fires a backhand pass right onto the tape of Guentzel. Both of the Jets’ defensemen thought this puck was getting out of their defensive zone.

They backed off on their coverage and ended up regretting it. Guentzel went onto connect with Crosby for a deflection goal and a 1-0 Penguins lead. If Letang would have fanned on or misfired with this pass, Mark Schiefele, and Patrik Laine were off to the races on an odd-man rush.

Coverage high in the defensive zone

Letang consistently maintains quality cap control on opposing forwards. You rarely see him backpedaling and allowing forwards too much time and space. On this play, he keeps Sabres forward Kyle Okposo away from the middle of the ice. Letang’s gap control forced Okposo to make a pass to the outside and to a player Sidney Crosby was already covering.

This clip highlights Letang’s defensive awareness. Toronto has an empty net, so Letang realizes he can not be overly aggressive high in the Penguins defensive zone. Letang accounts for the presence of both Mitch Marner and John Tavares. Nazem Kadri took the bait and attempted to connect with Marner on a pass. Letang broke up the pass and got the puck up to Geno Malkin.

Weaknesses

Coverage low in the defensive zone

As it turns out, both Crosby and Letang have more in common than 3 Stanley Cup rings. They both have the same weakness: coverage in the lower portion of the Penguins defensive zone. On this play, Letang covered and limited the time and space of Flames forward Mikael Backlund but just whiffed on the poke check. Backlund dekes around Letang and slides the puck through Tristan Jarry to tie the game up.

It is infuriating to hear Penguins fans cite and complain about Letang’s turnovers. When a player has the puck as frequently as Letang does, turnovers are inevitable. However, the good far outweighs the bad when it comes to Letang’s puck management and decision making. After having his breakout pass deflected, Letang chased the puck and Jordan Staal behind the Penguins net. He did not account for or cover Justin Williams and that left Brian Dumoulin in a tough spot.

Ultimately, Kris Letang is the straw that stirs the drink for the Penguins. His mobility, anticipation, and offensive skillset are vital to the Penguins’ success. If the NHL is to return this summer, Letang needs to remain healthy for the Penguins to seriously contend for a sixth championship. Thanks for reading!