Both Kris Letang and Mike Sullivan spoke with the media today. Letang talked a little bit about his future in the league while Mike Sullivan gave some updates about the roster.
Letang didn’t dish anything super detailed. He was pretty mum on specifics of his future contract. In fact, he kind of side stepped the question by addressing how his focus is on winning.
Kris Letang said he isn’t really thinking about his contract at this point.
— Taylor Haase (@TaylorHaasePGH) January 4, 2022
“My goal every year is to win a Stanley Cup, that’s what I focus on.…
He did however talk about how long he wanted to play.
Kris Letang on his contract: "I don't really think about this right now, to be honest...Right now, I'm just trying to play my game at the same level. Every time I enter the year, my goal is to win another Stanley Cup, and that's what I focus on. The rest can take care of itself."
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) January 4, 2022
Given his fitness level who am I to say he can’t? He might not be a top pairing guy for too much longer, but I find it hard to believe he would wash out of the league. I think he is capable of breaking the aging curve and has the ability to be a net positive for a while longer even if his role needs to be reduced in the future. That’s certainly not the case right now, though. He’s playing great on the top pairing this year and eating a ton of minutes.
I’m really not reading into him being coy about his future contract. Some players just want to deal privately and others like being more vocal in the media about it. I can’t say I blame him. Rutherford never went out of his way to make Letang (or Malkin) feel like they were going to finish their careers as Penguins.
Letang wasn’t without humor
When asked his own personal timeline by @MikeDeFabo, Kris Letang said if he had to put a number on it, it would be five more years.
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) January 4, 2022
"I have to beat Geno, eh? Sid’s gonna say six." https://t.co/7vNQ8squX6
As for Mike Sullivan here is what he had to say
Mike Sullivan said Carter is feeling much better. "Right now, he's day-to-day, but he's improved a lot over the last few days, which is great news from our standpoint."
— Pens Inside Scoop (@PensInsideScoop) January 4, 2022
Coach also confirmed that Jarry, Blueger and Kapanen will be available for Wednesday's game versus St. Louis.
Good news on all fronts here. The Penguins are creeping back to full strength, for the first time all season.
Thanks for reading!