CRANBERRY TOWNSHIP, Pa. — Kris Letang is healthy and happy.
The former is expected after offseason surgeries on his finger and wrist. The latter is important amid offseason speculation that he asked for a trade from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
“People were talking about that?” Letang said while laughing Wednesday, the opening day of Penguins training camp at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
“They didn’t talk to me.”
Asked directly if he requested a trade, as had been repeatedly discussed on Pittsburgh sports talk radio, Letang told The Athletic, “No, I did not.”
Letang conceded he was frustrated at the end of last season when the Penguins missed the playoffs for a second consecutive year. He hoped he wasn’t alone.
“I mean, everybody was, right?” Letang said. “If you left the rink with a big smile on your face, in my mind you’re in the wrong place to be.”
A year ago, Letang arrived at camp fielding questions about the arrival of Erik Karlsson. A high-profile acquisition by president of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas in August 2023, Karlsson opened camp and for much of last season supplanted Letang as the Penguins’ power-play quarterback.
Letang supported the trade for Karlsson, believing it would help the Penguins get closer to challenging for a championship. But the Penguins finished with the NHL’s third-worst power play at 15.1 percent — arguably the biggest reason they missed the postseason by three points.
Letang said on Wednesday that any dissatisfaction about last season had nothing to do with a perceived sacrifice of his standing on the top power play, if not as the No. 1 defenseman.
“The decision made a few years ago when I signed the deal is made,” Letang said, referring to a six-season contract he agreed to during the 2022 offseason. “Every year is going to be different. In the NHL, we always say, ‘A two-week window can change a lot of things for an organization.’
“So, uh, it is what it is. We made some changes. It was frustrating for everybody that it didn’t glue together all year. At the end of the day, we were 24 hours from a playoff spot and we missed the window, so … yes, I was frustrated. When you put commitment into something you get frustrated about it.”
Letang played 82 games last season for only the second time in his career. He scored 10 goals and 51 points — improvements on his averages from the previous 16 seasons, a handful of which were shortened by multiple strokes, concussions and injuries.
He did not escape last season unscathed physically, though.
His left wrist and finger were injured last November. He had surgery in April to repair an extensor tendon and again in May to fix a finger fracture.
Letang said Wednesday that he felt his season took a downturn after February. Until then, he “had a really strong season.”
“Around February, I don’t know, distraction-wise it kind of crept into my head for some reason,” Letang said. “I didn’t play so well for that two-, three-week window before the (trade) deadline. After that, I picked it back up. … It was kind of like a tale of three seasons.”
Though he scored four goals and eight points over the span, Letang was a minus-7 in 15 games from February through the March 8 trade deadline. Otherwise, he was on a 10-goal/52-point pace and plus-20 over 67 games.
A return to that form would please Dubas and Letang, who described their relationship as “pretty good actually.”
“He’s in the room often, and his door is always open if you want to talk to him,” Letang said. “He’s pretty honest about what he wants to do and the image of our team and what he thinks we should have.”
Karlsson’s injury
The Penguins issued word through their social media accounts Wednesday morning that Karlsson is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. He was not among the players to undergo offseason surgery and also participated in the team’s annual charity golf outing this past Thursday.
“I can’t really add anything to what you already know,” coach Mike Sullivan said, adding that, generally, a lot of players held out of camp during the early stages are for precautionary reasons.
Pettersson’s future
While on the topic of defensemen, Marcus Pettersson did not land a new contract despite being eligible to sign one during the offseason. Only 28 and coming off a career-best season in goals (4), points (30), plus/minus (plus-28), and average ice time (22:40), Pettersson emerged as the only reliable defenseman to play opposite either Letang or Karlsson.
Still, no deal.
So, what’s up?
Pettersson wouldn’t say one way or the other but did say, “I’m not worried. … I’m optimistic.”
Dubas had a busy offseason, adding several veterans on short-term deals, trading for prospect Rutger McGroarty and finally signing captain Sidney Crosby to a new contract. Talks with Pettersson’s camp weren’t a front-burner issue, but those conversations are likely to heat up before the regular season.
Notes
Reading anything into line combinations and defense pairings on the first day of camp is probably a mistake, especially with the potential for multiple spots to be won.
And with that qualifier out of the way, enjoy these nuggets:
- Anthony Beauvillier was the left wing opposite Bryan Rust on Sidney Crosby’s line.
- Vasily Ponomarev, one of the prospects acquired in the trade that shipped Jake Guentzel to the Carolina Hurricanes last season, skated on the left of center Evgeni Malkin. Rickard Rakell was the right wing.
- Drew O’Connor, coming off a breakout season with 16 goals and 33 points in 79 games, worked as the left wing opposite McGoarty on a line centered by Sam Poulin.
- Letang and Pettersson were paired with Matt Grzelyck and Sebastian Aho, respectively.
(Photo of Kris Letang: Steph Chambers / Getty Images)
