With uncertain future, Penguins defenseman Kris Letang has more immediate focus

Kris Letang was short on specifics about his future.

But he was long with his thoughts regarding the present.

After practice Tuesday in Cranberry, the Penguins’ all-time leader among defensemen in most statistical categories was asked about his future with the franchise.

He didn’t say much and professed he hasn’t ruminated on the matter a great deal.

That notion is dubious considering Letang is a pending unrestricted free agent after this season, and as the team’s representative to the NHL Players’ Association, there are few, if any, members of the roster savvier about the business components of being a professional hockey player.

“I don’t really think about this right now, to be honest,” Letang said. “There’s a lot of guys without contracts coming up (in the upcoming offseason). Right now, I’m just trying to play my game, bring the same level. My goal is every time I enter the year, is to win another Stanley Cup (title). That’s what I focus on. The rest is going to take care of itself.”

Letang did have much more to say about “the rest,” however.

At 34, he has offered a steady, efficient game while serving as a stabilizing presence on a roster that has been perforated all season by various absences, including veteran leaders such as centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.

In 27 games, Letang has 22 points (one goal, 21 assists) while averaging 25 minutes, 58 seconds of ice time per game, the second-highest figure in his career.

He also has improved with puck management. Once bedeviled by turnovers, he has averaged only 0.81 giveaways per game this season. In contrast, he had 55 giveaways in 55 games last season.

To provide even more context, during the 2019-20 campaign, Letang averaged 1.3 giveaways per game.

What has led to him being more secure with the puck?

“The experience, I guess,” Letang said. “Getting older. Talking with (assistant coach Todd Reirden) and trying to become a guy that’s reliable at any given moment. I face, usually, the top two (opposing) lines during a game. Guys are better and better offensively. They have more skill and speed. So turnovers can be costly, more now than ever.

“If I look 10 years ago or 15 years ago, turnovers, you were able to kind of recover. As of now, the speed of the game (has) increased, and execution is way higher. We look at this as a time to take less chances and try to calculate when to go, when not to go. Especially at the end of the night, if you’re reaching 26, 27 minutes, you want to be able to perform to a high level.”

Said Penguins coach Mike Sullivan: “He has strong convictions on how he should play the game, on how he assesses the game. I’ve really just grown to really appreciate how invested he is in being the best at what he does and, more importantly, helping the Pittsburgh Penguins win. I’d like to believe that when a player plays for as long as (Letang) has and the amount of games that he’s played, that certainly you would acquire wisdom through your experiences. We all learn much more from our experiences than we do anything else in life. You learn more from your failures than you do your success. We’ve had a fair amount of both here in Pittsburgh.

“He’s utilized the benefit of his experiences over the years, and he’s applying that to his game. As a result, he’s a more efficient player. He takes what the game gives him. He’s not forcing plays that aren’t there. And sometimes the simple play is the right play. He’s recognizing that. But he’s also doing what he does best when he sees opportunities to jump into the offense and be active off the rush. It’s that balance that I think that (Letang) has brought to the table and that, I think, helps us be a much better team.”

How much longer Letang will be with the team remains to be seen. He is in the final year of an eight-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $7.25 million. And there’s never a shortage of general managers willing to pay premium dollars for a right-handed defenseman who can play close to half an hour per game.

Letang suggested he would like to play five more years but could be open to more.

For the time being, he is focused on the current edition of the Penguins, especially since they remind him of an earlier team.

“The feeling I had (during the Stanley Cup championship season of 2015-16) was, even if after the first period, the second period, if you’re down by two (goals), there’s no panic. We believe in our system, we believe in each other. We were playing the same way. We knew we were going to win those games. Sometimes, you go on in the room, maybe you have a feeling that tonight’s not our night or it’s going to be a tough one. And it was never the case. It was always full confidence. Every guy was going their job. They were doing their details. They knew they had a role and everybody was doing it the best they could. Everything was in sync.

“Last year, we had the feeling that we had the team. This year, with all the adversity and everything we’ve faced, we don’t even know our potential. We didn’t have a full lineup yet. There’s always room for improvement. That’s the case for our team. … The character, I think, is our biggest strength right now. The rest is just going to come with time.”