Elliotte Friedman Exposes Significant Roadblock in Potential Kris Letang Trade by the Pittsburgh Penguins
It is hard to imagine Kris Letang playing anywhere other than with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on the Pittsburgh Penguins.
However, as the western Pennsylvania team continues to struggle, it has been reported that every player on the team other than Sidney Crosby may be available for trade.
To add fuel to the fire, top NHL insider Elliotte Friedman has now commented on some details of a potential Kris Letang trade, with a focus on his pre-existing health issues that may have caused his remaining $18.3 million of cap hit, and $14.4 million in salary (assuming a trade happens this upcoming off-season), to be uninsurable.
Here are Friedman's full thoughts, from his column 32 Thoughts
But his history of injuries and ailments make trading for the 37-year-old a gamble. And, it is difficult to know exactly how it all works, but NHL contracts can be uninsurable for pre-existing conditions. That's a worry with him.
Letang has total control over a trade, with a full no-move clause, and would thus be able to choose a destination of his choice, or choose to not be traded at all.
There were rumours this past summer that Letang was hoping for a trade to his home-province Montreal Canadiens, but nothing materialized.
Whether that is the location Letang ends up pursuing, or if another team with a better chance at winning imminently would be more favourable, a trade of the longtime Penguin is truly difficult to fathom.
The window is closing for Kyle Dubas to rebuild the Pittsburgh Penguins with the core still intact - if he chooses to change direction, the landscape of the NHL will change for a few years.
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Mikko Rantanen | 3 | 1 | 4 | |
| Nathan MacKinnon | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nick Bjugstad | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Adrian Kempe | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Patrick Kane | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Artturi Lehkonen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mitch Marner | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| William Nylander | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Aliaksei Protas | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| John Tavares | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Michael Kesselring | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Anze Kopitar | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Brett Leason | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Trevor Moore | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Anthony Beauvillier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jonatan Berggren | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Simon Edvinsson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Tomas Hertl | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 16 | 15 | 1 | - | 30 | |
Devils | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 24 | |
Wild | 15 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 23 | |
Panthers | 16 | 11 | 4 | 1 | 23 | |
Hurricanes | 15 | 11 | 4 | - | 22 | |
Golden Knights | 16 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 22 | |
Maple Leafs | 18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 22 | |
Capitals | 15 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 21 | |
Kings | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 21 | |
Rangers | 14 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 19 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||