Mark Madden: Penguins should extend Kris Letang's contract now

The Penguins’ management team of GM Ron Hextall and president of hockey operations Brian Burke has difficult work ahead between now and next season.

How good do the Penguins have to be to not trade defenseman Kris Letang and/or center Evgeni Malkin before the March 21 trade deadline? Both are free agents at season’s end.

Unless the Penguins morph into a legit Stanley Cup contender, Letang and Malkin can’t be allowed to walk away while bringing no compensation. Each could fetch a first-round pick plus an NHL-ready young player. (That assumes Malkin’s full recovery after knee surgery.)

If the Penguins keep Letang and Malkin through season’s conclusion just for old time’s sake, it would be an act of monumental foolishness. (Don’t rule it out.)

But there’s a way for Hextall and Burke to mitigate half that problem: Extend Letang now.

Giving Malkin a new contract shouldn’t be broached until he plays again, and for a considerable time.

But Letang has shown enough to merit a new deal. This season and last have arguably been the best, most consistent stretch of play in Letang’s 16-year NHL career.

Letang still has his trademark qualities: He’s a workhorse, averaging almost 26 minutes per game. He has speed, skill and physicality. He only has one goal but is still very involved in the attack. Letang plays well behind skilled players like Crosby. When the Penguins get stuck in their own end, Letang is a one-man breakout.

But Letang, at 34, has tempered all that just a bit, perhaps as a concession to age. His grasp of situational hockey has never been better. His hockey IQ is at its peak. (So is his fitness.)

If Letang leaves, who does what he does?

John Marino isn’t ready to assume that burden. If the Penguins dip into free agency for a replacement, whoever they get won’t be nearly as good but might cost almost as much.

If the Penguins want to commit to a total rebuild, that’s different.

If Letang leaves, the Penguins will be undertaking a total rebuild whether they like it or not. The defensive corps will utterly collapse without him.

Letang critics often gleefully point to the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup in 2017 with Letang missing those playoffs because of injury. (They forget Letang scoring the Cup-winning goal in ’16.)

But these Penguins aren’t those Penguins.

The Penguins should offer Letang a four-year extension at $8.6 million per year.

That might not be enough, but it’s reasonable.

Edmonton inked Darnell Nurse to an eight-year extension worth $9.25 million per. Nurse isn’t in Letang’s class. (Nurse is 26.)

New Jersey signed defenseman Dougie Hamilton to a seven-year contract worth $9 million per. Hamilton is 28 and 6-foot-6. But I’d rather have Letang, even at 34.

Letang won’t give a hometown discount, and he shouldn’t. He has a touch of the mercenary about him, anyway.

It’s more important to keep Letang than Malkin. If Malkin leaves, you’ve still got Crosby. Letang’s superb conditioning is a better bet moving forward. It’s harder to replace Letang.

It’s anybody’s guess how this ultimately plays out.

But if Letang gets to free agency, he’s gone. It’s easy to imagine a team giving Letang even more than this column suggests, and for longer.