With a little over a month until 2022 free agency, I’m taking an in depth look at at some of this year’s pending free agents by examining their recent performance and future projections. I’ve already looked at a couple of the top pending UFA forwards in Johnny Gaudreau and Filip Forsberg. Today, I’m looking at one of the top pending UFA defensemen: Kris Letang.
Previous Contract
- Signed: July 1, 2013
- Signed by: Pittsburgh Penguins
- Length: 8 years
- Cap Hit: $7.25M
- Clause: M-NTC, NMC
Projected Value: 21/22 Season
At age 34, Letang’s projected impact heading into the 21/22 season was a top pair defenseman. His $7.25M cap hit wasn’t great spending efficiency for the Penguins, with his projected value below $5M, however he remained Pittsburgh’s top defenseman based on the model projections.
2021-2022 Performance
Letang played a big role for the Penguins in 21/22, accumulating over 19 minutes of 5v5 time per game played in the regular season. His impact was slightly less than projected, with both offensive and defensive impacts playing a part. It’s interesting that, although his offensive impact was near the projection, his 5v5 goal rate and primary assist rate were not. Puck luck doesn’t look like a big factor, with his individual shooting percentage at 3.61% which is near average for defensemen and his on-ice shooting percentage at 8.24% fairly sustainable as well.
The Penguins made the playoffs as the third seed in the Metropolitan Division and fell to the New York Rangers in the first round, despite controlling 5v5 play throughout the 7 game series. Letang payed in all 7 games and had 1 goal and 3 assists in the series.
2022-2023 Projections
Letang is in his mid-30s, when we should expect some age related decline in his impact. He is still projected to be a top pair defenseman next season, though, on the back of what looks like a bit of a career resurgence over the past few years. His defensive impact is average but his strong offensive contribution still makes him a net positive impact.
The Verdict
Letang is the top defensemen among the pending UFA class of 2022. He can still play big minutes with a strong impact and will be a key player wherever he lands this offseason.
Want to check out more of this year’s pending free agents? Sign up for an annual membership to get access to all 22/23 team and player projection plots and peruse the full set of free agent player cards.
Input data for models from Natural Stat Trick. Contract data from CapFriendly.
