I think it’s safe to say that Kris Letang is easily one of fantasy hockey’s most frustrating players. His skill level is without question, but his troubled injury past can make him a risk. When he’s healthy, he can be dominating force for any fantasy team. The problem with owning Letang; he can’t stay healthy. This is Letang’s ninth NHL season and to this point, he has only managed to play a full 82 game schedule once in his career.
Last year, in particular, was disastrous. Letang started the season off on the IR, and then missed ten weeks after suffering a stroke. Surprisingly, he returned for the playoffs. In the playoffs, he suffered a broken foot and hand. Letang also has a storied concussion history from previous seasons to go along with various other ailments that have troubled him along his career.
How many Kris Letang owners felt he wasn’t worth the risk anymore and traded him away? How many basically had to give him away to get other teams to take him off their hands? I can well imagine that the teams that took the chance on him are smiling this season. A new coach, a new team philosophy and Letang is playing as well as he ever has, putting up solid fantasy numbers straight across the board.
Sure he’s missed some games this year (mainly because of a cheap shot from Zac Rinaldo) but he’s managed to bounce back quickly from injuries and continue to perform at a high level, and produce at an unbelievable rate. The Penguins leader in overall ice time this year already has 10 goals and is one away from matching his career high of 11. His 34 assists currently rank him third in the league for defensemen. His 17 power-play points rank him as the fourth best defenseman in the NHL.
Letang also offers other peripherals that most offensive defensemen tend to lack. When you look at other offensive leaders at the same position like Keith Yandle, Kevin Shattenkirk, Erik Karlsson or PK Subban, none of those players offer the hits that Letang dishes out. Letang is also the only one from the players I mentioned with a short handed point this season, playing just over two and a half minutes killing penalties for the Penguins this year. From that list of high-powered players, only Kevin Shattenkirk has a higher plus/minus than Letang.
As mentioned earlier, Letang certainly comes with a level of risk. His injury ladened past scares away most fantasy owners. I am a big believer in the old saying “with great risk comes great reward.” I tend to ignore the standard philosophy when it comes to avoiding injury-riddled players if their skill level is high. Injuries are a part of the game and can happen to anyone at any time. Who expected Steven Stamkos to break his leg last year and miss the Olympics? Who saw John Tavares getting hurt at the Olympics? Who expected Erik Karlsson to get his Achilles heal cut by Matt Cooke? I could go on and on but the point is simple; if you have the chance to own a high skilled fantasy player like Kris Letang, you shouldn’t let his injuries scare you from doing so. He is better than most of the defensemen in the NHL for fantasy hockey even if he doesn’t make it through an entire season. Of course you miss him when he’s out, but you sure love it when he’s in.
If you were one of the savvy ones out there, and acquired Letang at a low level last year, job well done. He has been rewarding you well all season long. If you are a competing team and looking for that extra push, I suggest you reach out to your local Letang owner and see if he still lives in the past and is looking to move him for fifty cents on the dollar. I would say your window of opportunity is quickly closing, if not already closed. Most bitter Letang owners are softening their stance on his injury past and buying in and buckling down on their prices. Their patience is paying off for them. That or they simply couldn’t get someone to take him off their hands and were “stuck” with him. Most fantasy GM’s would love to be “stuck” with Letang the way he’s played this year.
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