Friday, June 18, 2010
Damian Romano
Throughout the off-season, we here at Pens Universe are going to provide you with player profiles that will summarize our opinions on the strengths and weaknesses of each player as well as highlighting their performance this past season, and we'll also include an outlook for the 2010-2011.
KRISTOPHER LETANG
Salary:
$625,000.00
Points: 27
Goals: 3
Assists: 24
+/-: 1
PIM: 51
Strengths: Offensive potential; speed; strength; puck handling; shootout prowess.
Weaknesses: Lack of physical and mental aggressiveness; positioning; shot accuracy
2009-2010 Assessment:
Despite being down 7 goals this season, Letang posted his second best season of his young career with his first with out a negative +/- rating. He is a superior part of the teams penalty kill and was often called upon for more responsibility when Gonch was on the shelf. Taking a look at this season compared to last however he definitely had a few inconsistencies. What fans seem to overlook is how young Letang really is. He's not at the level of Gonchar or Orpik, but as he grows and learns the defense more, there is a lot bottled up inside Letang that we still haven't seen yet.
Awards:
Outside of the best hair on the team, none.
2010-2011 Outlook:
With the possibility of Gonchar leaving Tanger will be next in line as the Pens star defensmen (next to Brooks Orpik) and would be likely the one running the point on the power play. I would expect to see those three goals he scored this year double at the very least. He's young and healthy and has so much still to show us.
Worth His Salt?:
Certainly he's was worth the $650k salary last season. It remains to be seen whether he lives up to the newly acquired raise he received. We're optimistic and believe in Shero.
With the Pens in 2010-2011:
Absolutely. Ray locked him up for next 4 years for a reason.
Posted in: Kris Letang
