In a stark departure from the script in which the Pittsburgh Penguins’ ‘Core Three’ are supposed to stay together until the bitter end, defenseman Kris Letang shrugged off the stress of the trade deadline when speaking to Pittsburgh Hockey Now after the Penguins’ 6-5 overtime loss to Toronto Sunday.
Editor’s note: the original headline has been modified and the story edited to reflect PHN’s changing understanding of Letang’s comments and differing understanding.
Moments earlier, Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson admitted the looming NHL trade deadline, set for 3 p.m. Friday, was a stressful time for many of the players in the locker room. Indeed, many of them could have new addresses by the end of the week.
Although Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has flatly denied any insinuation of a fire sale, he’s also clearly set the goal of returning to competitiveness with a new, sustainable roster.
Dubas’s stated ambition casts the Penguins’ championship core of Letang, Evgeni Malkin, and Sidney Crosby as elder statesmen and mentors to the next crop of players.
All three have no-movement clauses, while Malkin and Letang also have 35+ contracts, which means that even if they retire or leave the NHL, their salary counts 100% against the Penguins’ salary cap total. Malkin has one year after this on his deal; Letang will have three.
While Crosby and Malkin have recently taken the trade deadline question as an opportunity to affirm their commitment to finishing their career with the Penguins, Letang referenced the bigger picture.
After a couple of questions about the game and the playoff chase, we got to the big picture.
In a locker room with only three of us — Letang, a Penguins media-relations representative and me — left, Letang undid his tape and collected his clothes, and we walked toward the locker room doors. He was headed toward the players’ room, I was going toward the exit.
PHN asked simply, “(Erik Karlsson) said the deadline is stressful for a lot of players in here. Are you in that boat, too?”
Letang affirmed he’s not worried. Not because he can block a trade or wants to stay, but because it’s a business.
“No,” he said. “I mean, it’s a business. I’ve known that since I was 21 years old.”
After handing me a few cliches about the team keeping its head down, fighting back, and playing hard, Letang’s voice trailed off as he said, “Whatever happens, happens.”