Penguins’ Kris Letang frustrated coaching staff and will pay for it next season…

It wasn’t a great season for the Pittsburgh Penguins, especially defenseman Kris Letang, a career-worst minus-15 while averaging 23 minutes per contest in 74 games in 2024-25. He also posted nine goals and 21 assists. And according to sources who spoke with team insider Josh Yohe of the Athletic, the Penguins’ coaching staff grew more and more frustrated with Letang’s playing style.

Yohe explained that Letang’s mental errors increased and his physical ability dipped throughout the campaign, which only angered former head coach Mike Sullivan, who spent 10 seasons behind Pittsburgh’s bench.

“Several team sources, who were granted anonymity to protect personal relationships, said Letang and his play were the source of incredible frustration for head coach Mike Sullivan and assistant coach David Quinn this past season. The mental errors have always been a part of the Letang package. Still, the former Penguins coaching staff became somewhat confounded when the mental errors began to multiply as his physical ability dipped.”

While Sullivan has since taken over as head coach of the New York Rangers, with Quinn joining him as an assistant coach, the feeling is that Letang will pay for those aforementioned mistakes as Yohe reports that the Penguins are reportedly looking to have D Kris Letang slot lower on their depth chart next year as he enters his 38-year-old season under new bench boss Dan Muse.

Letang, who has spent his entire 19-year career with the Penguins, is a beloved teammate but has found himself at the center of many trade rumours in the past. However, he holds no-trade clause and three seasons remaining on a six-year, $36.6-million contract. Letang’s also faced significant health issues, including heart surgery and two strokes in under 10 years.

Not sure how Letang will handle the demotion and what it means for his future in Pittsburgh, where he has won three Stanley Cups.