Letang was gifted a silver-plated hockey stick and an art mosaic made up of 1,000 photos, one from each of his games. Alex Letang then joined Kris on the blue line for the playing of national anthem.
Before Crosby's 1,000th game on Feb. 20, 2021, the Penguins mimicked part of the captain's pregame routine while wearing his jersey. They did the same for Malkin on Nov. 23 this season, when they returned home after he hit the milestone in Chicago three days earlier.
This time, the Penguins wore No. 58 to honor Letang before copying his pregame stretch, simultaneously scooting forward from the boards, sticking out each leg and twirling in place.
Tweet from @penguins: Warmups, Kris Letang style.#1Kris pic.twitter.com/lzXTeaQU4q
"I'm kind of scared because I have one of the craziest warmups. They (might) hate me for it," Letang said. "I have no idea. I hope they don't do anything, actually, Just go on and try to win this game."
Letang is the 381st player, 40th active, to reach 1,000 games in the NHL. He is the 68th to play his first 1,000 games with one team.
Drafted by Pittsburgh in the third round (No. 62 overall) in the 2005 NHL Draft, Letang has won the Stanley Cup three times (2009, 2016, 2017). He has the most goals (154), assists (532) and points (686) by a defenseman in Penguins history.
Letang debuted in a 4-0 win against the Flyers on Oct. 5, 2006, playing 15:01 on 17 shifts.
"I remember my first shift, it wasn't a pretty one," Letang said. "I lost my stick in a battle. The rules changed at that time, they were calling a lot of holding, hooking, stuff like that. So as soon as I got in a battle, my stick was caught, so I said, 'I don't want to take a penalty on my first shift.'
"I dropped my stick. When I went to get it, the puck got ripped, hit my stick. Went one way, the puck went the other. I didn't know what to do. I kind of froze. End up taking my stick and sprinted to the bench, take the change. My heart was racing. I think I got the guys laughing on the bench, so I think it was a plus."
Letang has missed 18 games this season, five after having the second stroke of his NHL career on Nov. 28. He played eight games before sustaining a lower-body injury Dec. 28, returning Jan. 24.
Claude Fouquet, Letang's father, died before the Penguins played in the 2023 Discover NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park in Boston on Jan. 2.
"I'm sure Claude is looking down with a big smile on his face," Crosby said during Letang's video tribute.
In his 17th season, Letang leads Pittsburgh's defensemen with 36 points (10 goals, 26 assists) in 58 games entering Sunday.
"Like I've said, I never thought I would get there," Letang said of reaching 1,000 games. "So I'm going to be pretty happy."
