According to Darren Dreger, the Penguins have offered Letang a hair over $7 million a year for 8 years. But it might not be good enough to keep the defenceman in Pittsburgh, and initial rumour mongering has linked Letang to the Leafs.

Although Letang is a very good player, he has no history in a shutdown role, and the Leafs desperately need a strong defensive upgrade beside Dion Phaneuf to get the most out of their captain. That isn't to say Letang can't perform in that role, but when you have to gut your farm system and shell out huge money to get a player, you want to be reasonably sure he's capable of what you need, and not a $60+ million gamble.

A No. 2 defenceman is the biggest priority for the Leafs, even more so than the never-ending search for a No. 1 centre, mainly because Phaneuf didn't have a particularly good year in 2013 and the deficiencies of the top pair were on full display.

In part, Phaneuf's failings were because Randy Carlyle gave him a purely defensive role the likes of which has rarely, if ever, been seen before. To make things worse, half the season he was playing with AHL players. However, Phaneuf is a quality defenceman, he just needs to be surrounded by other quality defencemen so the hardest defensive duties don't fall on his shoulders alone. Try playing huge minutes against John Tavares and the elites of the league with Korbinian Holzer strapped to your back.

Finding a No. 2 defenceman isn't going to be easy for Dave Nonis. Teams are always searching for top-4 defencemen and guys capable of playing 22+ minutes in a shutdown role aren't just sitting around on the waiver wire. Looking around at the No. 2 defencemen in the league, and finding out how their teams acquired them, could provide insight into how Nonis might go about finding a partner for Phaneuf.

Heading into the final year of his contract, Kris Letang might be pricing himself out of Pittsburgh.

The Penguins are working on extending Letang, but are hesitant to offer much more than $6 million a season. Pierre LeBrun doesn't think Letang will sign for any less than $7 million a season.

The Penguins have the cap space to offer Letang a contract worth $7 million a season, but thanks to massive contract extensions for Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, more than $34 million is already committed to six players in 2014-15, and adding Letang's big ticket would put them in a cap squeeze.

The Penguins are also concerned about whether Letang is worth elite defenceman money. According to Rob Rossi, "Letang is not the consensus best defenseman on the Penguins, at least in the eyes of management and coaches."

And with the bevy of young defence prospects in the Penguins' system, Rossi believes Letang has become a "must-move player" for GM Ray Shero. The Penguins could decide to keep Letang next season and go for a cup, return be damned, but a trade seems likelier, with CBC's Elliotte Friedman reporting teams are preparing offers in case the two sides fail to reach an agreement.

If the Penguins do decide to trade Letang, there will be plenty of suitors, despite the high cost to acquire the Norris Trophy finalist. More concerning, however, is Letang's desire to be paid like an elite defencemen. Sure, he's scored 190 points over the last five years, tied for 11th among defencemen, but are there enough holes in his defensive game to cause teams to look elsewhere for defensive help?

Is Letang worth $7 million or more over 5-8 years, or is this a case of buyer beware?

The league's hottest team just got back the league's best player. The Pittsburgh Penguins have won 10 games in a row, 13 of their last 15, and now have Sidney Crosby back in the lineup to go alongside MVP candidate Evgeni Malkin.