A report surfaced yesterday claiming that Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang, 26, is “uneasy” about his status within the franchise. Furthermore, if he ends up getting traded, he’d like to head to Toronto.
Cue the denial.
“We haven’t discussed the Toronto Maple Leafs. Period,” Letang’s agent, Kent Hughes told TSN’s Bob McKenzie. “Our focus has been on trying to conclude a deal with Pittsburgh.”
Additionally, if the Penguins do shop him, Letang doesn’t have any preferred teams, according to RDS’ Renaud Lavoie.
Letang has one season remaining on his current deal, which comes with a $3.5 million annual cap hit. It’s been speculated that Letang is seeking roughly double that given what Ryan Suter and Shea Weber got last summer. While the offensive defenseman might earn that kind of money on the open market, it’s hard to see the Penguins working that salary under the cap ceiling.
Pittsburgh has shown a willingness in the past to trade a player with time to spare if they’re not confident about their chances of re-signing them before they become an unrestricted free agent. That’s what they did with Jordan Staal after their attempts to lock him to a long-term extension.