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Kris Letang Puts Up Dominant Performance at Scrimmage: Is He Back?
Longtime Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang had a good showing during a recent Penguins scrimmage, is he getting back into the form fans are familiar with?
Lots has been made about 2025-26 potentially being the end of an era for the Pittsburgh Penguins, as it's expected to be the last year in the NHL career of longtime forward Evgeni Malkin.
Sidney Crosby has been included in trade rumours, something that seemed almost unthinkable as recently as last year, while the health of Kris Letang remains a question mark because of the multiple health issues he's endured in recent years, including a pair of strokes and heart surgery.
But during a scrimmage on Wednesday, Letang stood out with a hat trick.
It may have only been a team scrimmage, but it's an encouraging sign for Letang.
Kris Letang's contract appears unmovable from the Penguins
In 2022, Letang re-signed with the Penguins for 6 years with an AAV (average annual value) of $6.1 million, which makes him a difficult candidate to be traded.
Per Penguins analyst Josh Yohe, Letang's contract makes him virtually unmovable, and the teams that would make sense for him geographically aren't interested in acquiring him.
Given his health, salary and contract length, it's believed that no NHL teams are interested in Letang's services. He's too much of a risk, and his play has deteriorated.
Letang's unique health problems would require teams to pay an enormous amount of insurance on his contract, which they don't seem eager to do. It has long been presumed that Letang might be interested in playing with his hometown Montreal Canadiens or in Southern California, where Letang and his wife own a home.
But those teams aren't interested.
Letang's unique health problems would require teams to pay an enormous amount of insurance on his contract, which they don't seem eager to do. It has long been presumed that Letang might be interested in playing with his hometown Montreal Canadiens or in Southern California, where Letang and his wife own a home.
But those teams aren't interested.
So far during his career, Letang has won played in 1161 games and won 3 Stanley Cups with the Penguins and has 772 points (175G, 597A).
| POLL | ||
SEPTEMBRE 24 | 80 ANSWERS Kris Letang Puts Up Dominant Performance at Scrimmage: Is He Back? Will Kris Letang finish out his current contract with the Penguins? | ||
| Yes | 62 | 77.5 % |
| No | 18 | 22.5 % |
| List of polls | ||