Penguins Update - Therrien to Letang - "We need you."
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by FrankD
11.14.07 More at http://pensburgh.blogspot.com
The Penguins have promoted one of the future stars of the game, Kris Letang, from the WBS club in efforts to jump start the offense and improve on the defense. Letang has been a prospect hopeful for quite some time, often even seen as having a lock on the club in the preseason. However, he failed to ignite the coaches' interest and in turn spent the first few weeks on the farm.
Letang is a formidable threat on both sides of the puck, bringing not only a patient mind to the Penguins' defense, but also a hard and desperately needed right-handed shot to the Pens blueline. Last season, Letang played seven games with the Big Boys, netting two powerplay goals for two points in seven games.
With Letang's call, Nasreddine and Kennedy will find themselves back in the suits of the baby Pens. Nasreddine was a healthy scratch for most of the first 18 games, playing only while defenseman Ryan Whitney was listed day-to-day with an injured groin and tallying no points in the process. Tyler Kennedy wasn't much better, playing in six NHL games and scoring only one goal. He was often out-muscled by the opposition and had been a scratch in the past three games. If Kennedy takes this demotion as a sign of improvement, then I don't suspect it'll be long till we see him again. He's a fast skater who's quick on his feet to chase down the dump-ins, but tends to get rocked between heaven and hell by the bigger, tougher and older guys.
Letang's promotion is big news for the Penguins, who have struggled to a 1-6 record in the month of November and found themselves resting uncomfortably at the bottom of the Atlantic Division.
On a personal note, I'd like to say a thank you to Coach Therrien for taking my advice on promoting Letang earlier this week. Now it's up to Kris to make me look good.
The Pens may have even made a move to potentially work out some goaltending kinks. Maybe.
The Pittsburgh Penguins re-assigned goaltender John Curry to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. Curry went 1-0-1 for the US National Team at the Deutschland Cup in Germany, posting a 1.92 GAA and .946 save percentage. Time to see what he can do with the Baby Pens.
Is this it for the Pens for now, or are there more moves in the future? This next game against the Islanders Thursday night will tell more than just a win or loss, but what can be expected of the Pens for the next month or so.
Preview soon to come.
