CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Kris Letang played in his hometown of Montreal on Oct. 14.
Four games into his 19th NHL season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the defenseman scored at 11:32 of the third period in a 6-3 win. Alex, Letang’s 11-year-old son, sat along the glass wearing his dad’s No. 58 jersey.
It’s a moment that never was guaranteed. Neither was Saturday, when Letang will play his 1,100th game in the League, again against the Montreal Canadiens, at PPG Paints Arena (7 p.m. ET; SN-PIT, NHLN, SNE, CITY, TVAS).
“There were times where I didn’t even think I was going to crack 500,” Letang told NHL.com.
A career full of challenges, physical and emotional, is highlighted by three Stanley Cup championships (2009, 2016, 2017). Since being selected in the third round (No. 62) of the 2005 NHL Draft, Letang has the most 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. “You just learn so many things throughout and you adjust. I think it was a hard road but I think I did a good job of finding ways to treat my body better and prepare myself to be able to play as many as I can.”
In late January 2014, Letang was set for a road trip to Los Angeles when Catherine Laflamme, his future wife, found him on the floor of their home. At 26 years old, he suffered a stroke. He returned April 9 for the final three games of the regular season and played 13 during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Found in the wall of his heart was a very small hole, which typically closes for most people.
Letang had another stroke Nov. 28, 2022, and missed five games.
Claude Fouquet, his father, then died about a month later. Letang, in Boston for the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park, traveled home to Montreal in early January. The Penguins joined him for the wake.
Recovering from a lower-body injury, Letang next played Jan. 24, finishing that season with 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 64 games. He was awarded the Masterton Trophy, voted as the NHL player who best exemplified the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.
“I think he’s always looked at challenges as opportunities, whether it was health related or just within his game,” longtime teammate Sidney Crosby said. “He’s just a guy that loves to compete. He doesn’t shy away from any challenge.”
The strokes didn’t make him question his NHL future.
“Where I really struggled was when I had neck problems,” Letang said.
Letang played 41 games in 2016-17 before his season ended Feb. 21. He had neck surgery to repair a herniated disc the week of April 13, making him a spectator when Pittsburgh won the Stanley Cup for a second straight season.
“With the neck, it was going downhill, like, every single day,” he said. “After surgery, it’s the worst I’ve ever felt in my life. I just thought, 'I don’t know how I was going to climb back on that horse.' But you just put your head to it and great things can happen.”
He was back to open the next season, on Oct. 4, 2017.
Letang, 37, has 360 points (81 goals, 279 assists) in 496 games since the surgery, including 51 points (10 goals, 41 assists) in 82 games last season. He will join Crosby (1,284) and center Evgeni Malkin (1,147) as the only players to reach 1,100 games for the Penguins.
“He should have played a lot more games, even. I think people forget that,” said defenseman Erik Karlsson, is in his second season with Pittsburgh. “The journey that he’s gone through, now I know the stories and what actually happened because he’s my teammate now. ... You think that’s going to be tough to come back from, the stuff that he had.
“For him to be able to do it multiple times is impressive. It’s hard to do. ... So to be able to do that after what he went through, I think it really is extraordinary.”
Letang signed a six-year, $36.6 million contract ($6.1 million average annual value) with the Penguins on July 7, 2022, opting against becoming an unrestricted free agent.
Malkin did the same five days later, agreeing to a four-year, $24.4 million contract with a matching $6.1 million AAV. Crosby signed a two-year, $17.4 million contract ($8.7 million AAV) on Sept. 16, keeping him in Pittsburgh through 2026-27.
In their 19th season together, they are the longest-tenured trio of teammates in the history of major North American pro sports.
“What I think is really nice is it’s not forced,” Letang said. “Sometimes you can get three guys early on in their career and they have totally different agendas, you know? What’s fun is all three (here) had only one goal in mind and it was to bring championships and be the best we could for this organization. Like I said, nothing was ever forced. It was just organic.”
The Penguins (4-7-1) are searching for similar success after missing the playoffs the past two seasons. They lost six straight (0-5-1) before Crosby scored twice in a 2-1 overtime win against the Anaheim Ducks on Thursday.
Letang has four points (two goals, two assists) in 12 games. He’d like to improve, especially with Alex and Victoria, a daughter born in July 2018, watching.
“That’s the most important," he said. "I realize that you only have one health, you can’t really gamble that.
"The fact that I’m comfortable and I’m healthy now, that I can do the things I love but I can also be active and do all kinds of things with them on the ice, I think it’s pretty special.”
