Difficult weeks lie behind Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang. At the end of November he suffered the second stroke of his life. Then came a lower body injury and the death of his father, a severe stroke of fate. The 35-year-old has not played a game for the Penguins since December 28. He is currently staying in his home in Montreal to be with his family.
His teammates followed him. After Sunday’s win over the Arizona Coyotes, the Penguins traveled to Montreal to be with their longtime pal. According to players and coaches, doing this in big family style felt right. “He’s such a big part of this team, a big part of this organization, there are bigger things than hockey,” he said Bryan Rust. “Family is number one and we all look at him as family.”
The Penguins have already worn “CF” helmet stickers honoring Letang’s father Claude Fouquet in their last two games. Now they traveled to the Canadian metropolis to be able to attend the funeral. The owners have been supportive of this endeavor, as coach Mike Sullivan explained: “We talked about a number of different scenarios and logistical challenges. We’re grateful that Fenway Sports Group was 100 percent supportive of anything the players wanted to do.”
The defender Pierre-Olivier Joseph once again underlined the special relationship with the veteran: “He is like an older brother and mentor for many young people here. He has been in this organization for a long time. I think that was the least we could do to make up for all of this what he did for us, giving back.”
Marcus Pettersson adds: “He texted us and said that it meant a lot to his whole family. It meant a lot to us too, to show him that we support and care for him.”