"When Hard Times Happen, It Always Gets Better"
Kris Letang has been named Pittsburgh's nominee for the Masterton Trophy
The Penguins defenseman has been the personification of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey after suffering a stroke, the second of his lifetime, and dealing with the passing of his father, all in the span of a couple months.
That has led to the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association naming Letang the team's Masterton Trophy nominee, given annually to the player who best exemplifies those qualities. It is the fourth nomination of his career, with Letang finishing as a finalist in 2015.
"I think it's something that I always kind of took pride in, being able to bring it every day," Letang said. "That's how I was raised, also, to never back down from a challenge or to never quit when you're down. My parents, my family, they're the big supporters. So obviously, they got those qualities in me at an early age."
Kris was brought up by his mom, Christiane Letang, and his dad, Claude Fouquet, who died in January. The Penguins organization - teammates, coaches, management and support staff - traveled to his funeral in Montreal to show their support for Letang during a hellish time.
Just a few weeks earlier, the shocking news came out that Letang had experienced a second stroke at age 35 after having the initial one eight years earlier at age 26. At first, the symptoms seemed consistent with the migraines he gets every couple of months. Usually, the timeframe for those lasts two hours. It starts with about thirty minutes where Letang is struggling with his vision, he gets headaches, and gets nauseous.
At that point, Letang said he either throws up or goes to sleep; they kind of wear off; and he feels good to go. But that cycle kept happening every three hours, so Letang knew something was really wrong. He got in contact with head team physician Dr. Dharmesh Vyas and head athletic trainer Chris Stewart, then immediately went to the hospital for testing.
"I was public with the stroke because it's something that is way more common than people think," Letang said. "But it can be overlooked and not really paid attention to because it can look harmless. So, people just go on with their life, but there's things to do if you want to be able to not have another stroke, or something else."
Letang returned to the lineup less than two weeks after the diagnosis following extensive testing, with everyone involved taking all of the necessary precautions to make sure it was safe. He credits Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle, who owned the team when Letang had his first stroke, and now the Fenway Sports Group, for sparing no expense to take care of him.
"The organization has always helped me out to seek the best doctors, tried to put me in the best spot to get better," Letang said. "So, both kinds of ownership that I got through throughout my career, they didn't try to save any money or anything. They tried to get me the best treatment and do everything they could for me to get better."
Letang played eight games before going down with a lower-body injury. He traveled with the team to Boston for the Winter Classic, which is where he learned the heartbreaking news about Claude. Kris immediately returned home to be with his family. His other family, his Penguins family, tried to be there for Letang as best they could.
"It was huge," Letang said. "I mean, it's been happening for a lot of years. It's not only this year, I can count on a lot of good friends. Obviously, (Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin) have been with me for 17 years. So, these two guys, they have always been there for me. And they also know what it's like to not be able to play or go through a tough time.
"So, their support… my family, my wife, kids… they make everything lighter. You go home and you see your kids, they don't care about hockey. They just want to see you. So, it kind of makes you think about other stuff."
But as Crosby said, ultimately, it's something Kris himself has had to find a way to get through. "And he's done an amazing job," the captain said. "I think we always knew that about him, how strong his character is and was. But it's certainly been challenged and tested this year with everything he's had to go through, and it's amazing that he's handled it the way he has."
Letang scored twice, including the overtime winner, during a four-point night in his return to the lineup on Jan. 24 versus Florida.
He's since piled up nine goals in the 33 games that he's played from that point, setting a new franchise record for the most overtime tallies by a Penguins defenseman in one season with three.
He's continued to log impressive minutes, ranking in the NHL's top-10 with an average of 24:49 a night.
He's been a leader and a mentor for his teammates, including young countryman P.O Joseph.
The resilience shown by Letang has been truly remarkable, and the Penguins are so fortunate to have a player and person like him as their franchise defenseman. As Letang's longtime trainer Jon Chaimberg said, he cares so much about the Penguins, and people will never truly know the sacrifices he's made over the years to continue playing for this organization.
"Obviously, there are some tough times, there are some emotional times," Letang said. "But at the end of the day, I always thought that I was going to push through it, and be able to come on the other side and be the same or better."
