The Pittsburgh Penguins have locked down one of their many soon-to-be free agents, giving defenseman Kris Letang a four-year contract extension the team announced today on it’s website. From the press release:
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Kris Letang to a four-year contract extension, it was announced today by executive vice president and general manager Ray Shero. Financial terms were not disclosed.
The new contract goes into effect at the start of the 2010-11 season and will run through 2013-14. Letang, 22, has played 211 career NHL games in three-plus seasons with Pittsburgh, totaling 79 points on 21 goals and 58 assists.
The Penguins still have nine other UFA’s this summer to decide on, but thanks to nearly $19 million locked into Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for next season (and beyond), the Penguins already have $41 million locked into their payroll for next season. Assuming that the salary cap stays around the $56 million mark, that’s $19 million to spread around nine roster spots.
The Penguins will have a tough choice to make with a few veterans, most notably Sergei Gonchar and Bill Guerin. Letang’s contract is great for the Penguins for the future; let’s just wait and see what the finances of the deal are. It could make some interesting choices not that hard to make.