Pittsburgh Review

Kris Letang, a defenseman for the Pittsburgh Penguins, is set to play his 1,100th NHL game on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens at PPG Paints Arena. This milestone comes during Letang's 19th season with the team. Reflecting on his career, Letang remarked, "There were times where I didn’t even think I was going to crack 500."

Letang's journey in professional hockey has been marked by both achievements and challenges. He has won three Stanley Cup championships (2009, 2016, 2017) and holds records for goals (168), assists (578), and points (746) by a defenseman in Penguins history. "It’s just pretty special. It’s a long journey," Letang said.

The path hasn't been easy for Letang. In January 2014, he suffered a stroke at age 26 but returned to play later that season. Another stroke occurred in November 2022, sidelining him for five games. His father passed away shortly after this incident.

Despite these setbacks, Letang continued to excel on the ice and was awarded the Masterton Trophy for perseverance and dedication in hockey last year. Teammate Sidney Crosby commented on Letang's resilience: “I think he’s always looked at challenges as opportunities... He doesn’t shy away from any challenge.”

Health issues have also included neck problems that led to surgery in April 2017, causing him to miss part of that season when Pittsburgh won another Stanley Cup. After recovering from surgery, he returned strong and has since accumulated significant points over several seasons.

Letang signed a six-year contract with the Penguins in July 2022 instead of becoming an unrestricted free agent. Alongside teammates Crosby and Evgeni Malkin—who also renewed their contracts—the trio remains committed to bringing success back to Pittsburgh.

The Penguins are currently facing challenges this season after missing playoffs for two consecutive years but recently secured an overtime win against Anaheim Ducks thanks largely due Crosby’s performance while Letang contributed four points across twelve games so far this term

Looking ahead towards future endeavors within sport alongside family commitments like spending time together off-ice activities such as skating sessions shared between children Alex Victoria born July last decade respectively; highlighting importance maintaining balance between personal professional life priorities alike according player himself: “That’s most important realize only one health can’t really gamble fact comfortable healthy now things love active do all kinds things them ice think pretty special.”