It's no secret that Kris Letang is the cornerstone of the Penguins' defense corps.
After all, he has been for quite a few years.
His preeminent position is reflected in his ice time this season; Letang is averaging 25 minutes, 47 seconds per game, easily the most on the team. That includes 21:24 during 5-on-5 play in a typical game, as well as 3:06 on the power play, most of any Penguins defenseman.
He also gets on the ice when the Penguins are killing a penalty.
Just not as much as he did earlier in his career. Or as much as four other Penguins defensemen, for that matter.
Letang's average of 1:17 of short-handed work per game puts him behind John Marino (2:29), Brian Dumoulin (2:10), Chad Ruhwedel (1:42) and Mark Friedman (1:36). It is Letang's lowest average since 2008-09, when, coincidentally enough, he also came in at 77 seconds.
His secondary role on the penalty-kill in 2021-22 isn't an accident or oversight, but the result of a conscious -- and perfectly logical -- decision by Mike Sullivan and his staff.
Not because Sullivan feels Letang, who logged a career-high 2:47 per game killing penalties in 2014-15, isn't effective there at age 34, but because shorthanded minutes are the most demanding any forward or defenseman can get, and Sullivan believes limiting Letang's penalty-killing duty benefits other aspects of his game.
"We're trying to allocate those minutes to other guys, because we think we get more productive minutes from (Letang) in different circumstances," he said.
Cutting down Letang's penalty-killing time actually began last season, when Cody Ceci's strong work allowed him to become the Penguins' primary right-handed defenseman on that unit.
Despite his limited short-handed duties, Letang's overall average ice time is the sixth-highest in the league, and it's unlikely that many guys will overtake him.
"He's such an important player for our team, for so many reasons," Sullivan said. "He's on the ice for half the game, for the most part. We've tried to manage his workload. I think (assistant coach Todd Reirden) has done a really good job, with respect to that. ... In my mind, there's no doubt that when we don't manage workloads the right way, fatigue becomes a factor for any player."
The exceptionally strong showing by the Penguins' penalty-killers -- they are the most efficient unit in the NHL through the first two-plus months of the season -- validates the decision to limit how much Letang plays when the Penguins are down a man. That they are giving opponents an average of just 2.43 power plays per game also helps to hold down how much he must be used then.
And while Letang probably wouldn't object to taking on more penalty-killing work -- most guys like to play as much as possible, regardless of the situation -- he doesn't have to worry about setting a career-low in shorthanded ice time. Odds are he'll never outdo his rookie season, 2006-07, when he logged a total of seven seconds of penalty-killing work in seven games, presumably all in one seven-second burst.
MORE PENGUINS
• The Penguins won't focus on their upcoming home-and-home series with the Devils -- Sunday in Newark, Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena -- until after their game against the Sabres Friday night, but it probably wouldn't be a bad idea to incorporate some penalty shots into their next few practices. The Penguins and New Jersey have been in five shootouts each this season, tying Anaheim for the league lead. And while both clubs have had plenty of experience in shootouts so far in 2021-22, neither has had much success in them. Both are 1-4 in games that stretch beyond overtime. -- Molinari
• The NHL's holiday roster freeze takes effect Sunday at 11:59 p.m. and, while there obviously still is time for things to change before then, Canucks president of hockey operations/interim GM Jim Rutherford seems to be standing by his pledge to not make any major personnel moves during his early days on the job. Rutherford, though, has come by his reputation as one of the NHL's most aggressive traders honestly, and once he's identified areas of Vancouver's depth chart that he believes need to be bolstered, there's not much reason to think he'll be shy about trying to put together some deals. It also will be interesting to see if Rutherford approaches the Penguins about trading for Kasperi Kapanen, if he determines that Kapanen would be a good fit with the Canucks. If often seems as if no one is quite as smitten with a player as the general manager who drafted him, and Rutherford not only drafted Kapanen for the Penguins, but traded to bring him after parting with Kapanen in the Phil Kessel deal. Of course, even if Rutherford would decide that adding Kapanen would be a plus for his new team, Ron Hextall would have no obligation to even discuss a deal with him, let alone agree to one. -- Molinari
• Although the Penguins, like a lot of other teams, have had some COVID-19 issues this season, it isn't because they've been lax in observing the guidelines handed down by the league. In fact, the Penguins have gone well beyond them, in some cases. In that vein, they are encouraging broadcasters who are members of their traveling party to eat at team meals, rather than having them go to restaurants and risk contracting the coronavirus and bringing it back inside the team. Normally, team meals are restricted to players, coaches and members of the equipment and training staffs, but these obviously are far from normal times. -- Molinari
STEELERS
• Prior to Mike Tomlin's press conference on Tuesday, the Steelers head coach got to the staging area a little early. "Hey," he said. "Just to let you guys know now, there will be no (Stephon) Tuitt this week." Tomlin has been asked about the status of Tuitt if not every week, then at least every other week this season. And his answer has been the same -- no new news. As I reported a couple of weeks ago, physically, Tuitt is recovered from the knee injury that sidelined him during minicamp and OTAs. But mentally, he and his family are still dealing with the anguish of losing his brother in a hit-and-run incident in July. His mother was with her son, Richard Bartlett III, when he was killed and saw it happen. Tuitt will return when he returns. It won't be this season. As I explained to Tomlin when he made his pre-press conference statement, reporters only ask because we are constantly asked about it. But the Steelers are trying to be respectful to Tuitt and his family in a difficult situation. They don't have to make any announcements regarding his status. And they won't. The Steelers knew this was a possibility. It's why they restructured Tuitt's contract in August, lowering his 2021 salary to just over $1 million while adding three voidable years to the end of the deal. When he returns -- next season, the final year of his regular contract -- they'll welcome him back with open arms. He's part of their family. But I hope this puts the issue to bed. -- Dale Lolley on the South Side
• There is a growing sense within the organization that defensive coordinator Keith Butler, 65, will retire at the end of this season. Butler has been with the Steelers for 19 years, helping them win two Super Bowls, and has been the team's defensive coordinator since 2015. But Tomlin, who has a long history with Butler that pre-dates their time with the Steelers, calls most of the defenses on game days. Butler also has been the team's outside linebackers coach -- his initial position with the team -- the past two seasons since Joey Porter was not retained. So, his retirement would leave two openings on Tomlin's staff. What remains to be seen is if Tomlin would hire a defensive coordinator who will be in charge of play calling, of if he will continue to do it himself. This has been a down season for the Steelers defensively, to be sure, but the defense was good to very good in 2019 and 2020. Defensive backs coach Teryl Austin would be the top in-house candidate to replace Butler, which also would create a different opening on the staff. -- Lolley
• The Steelers were awarded Mexico through the International Home Marketing Areas. That means that starting Jan. 1, the Steelers will have access to the Mexican market for at least a five-year term, during which time they will have rights to pursue activities in that international market that are consistent with what they can do in their domestic HMA (the Pittsburgh area). This includes in-person and digital marketing, corporate sponsorship sales, fan events and activations, youth football activities, merchandise sales and co-marketing relationships with other sports and entertainment properties in the market. It also makes it highly likely the Steelers will be playing a game in Mexico in that five-year window. Art Rooney II has long wanted to play a game in Mexico, where the Steelers have a large following. But the league has only played four regular season games in Mexico -- the last being in 2019 -- with the Raiders, Rams and Chargers being the designated home teams. The Steelers don't play those teams often enough to have been on that schedule. But with Mexico now being deemed an IHMA area for the Steelers, expect that to change and the team to be scheduled to play a regular season game there if not in 2022, then in 2023 at the latest. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• Joel Hanrahan didn’t have anything lined up whenever he told the Pirates he wasn’t going to re-sign, but he was quickly flooded with interview requests and has his next job set up. He checks just about every box a team looks for in a pitching coach or coordinator, including an ability to relate to players, blend analytics and coaching while preaching that bulldog, act-confident approach. It’s perplexing the Pirates are opting to stick with just two members on their MLB coaching staff – pitching coach Oscar Marin and bullpen coach Justin Meccage, though Jeremy Bleich is usually with the team and is a bridge to the analytics department – rather than find a way to get Hanrahan to the majors, which is what he wanted. Hanrahan told me the Pirates offered a variety of different deals and good money to stay, but only as a minor-league coach. After five years in that role, he was ready for the next challenge. -- Alex Stumpf
• Speaking of major league coaching, bullpen catcher and assistant coach Heberto Andrade, who had been with the organization the last 18 years, is leaving for a position with the Padres. More than a handful of his former assistant coaches and industry veterans went to Twitter to express their respect for him after I tweeted the news Thursday. That makes two well-respected veteran coaches the Pirates lost this offseason, the other being Joey Cora. It’s definitely a younger staff, which has its own merits, but with the exceptions of Derek Shelton, major league coach Glenn Sherlock and first base coach Tarrik Brock, you’d be hard pressed to call anyone on this staff a vet. -- Stumpf
• One player who took a pretty noticeable leap up Baseball America’s 2022 Pirates prospect list is catcher Endy Rodriguez, who came over from the Mets in three-team Joe Musgrove trade. He was ranked No. 7 in the system, and the top six guys are going to be on the top 100 list. The Pirates have several catching prospects, including No. 1 overall pick Henry Davis, in the system, so it might move Rodriguez away from his natural catcher position. Director of coaching and player development John Baker told me the outfield, first base and second base were all options for him. But talking to some of the pitchers he caught in Bradenton at the pitching development camp, they loved throwing to him and want him behind the plate. “He was good because he was so aggressive,” Eddy Yean said at Pirate City, as translated by Omar Cruz. “Aggressive in every form. Hitting, throwing to the bases, catching the ball. If you were not doing good, not in control, he would try to motivate you to try to get control." One more note on Rodriguez: Davis has picked his brain for some good baseball terminology in Spanish because he is learning the language. -- Stumpf