Kris Letang is a human being before he is a hockey player and his health and safety is of the most importance for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
PITTSBURGH - For the second time in his career, Kris Letang will be sidelined from the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup due to a stroke.
The Penguins as an organization are making sure to focus on the health of Letang as a person before worrying about his return to the ice.
Both general manager Ron Hextall and head coach Mike Sullivan were sure to point out that the health of Letang is priority number one.
“First and foremost, this is about the person,” Hextall said. “This is Kris Letang, the father, the family guy. The hockey player and the Pittsburgh Penguin, that’s secondary.”
While Letang is a star player, he is also a human being with a child, friends, and family.
Some of his closest friends are his Penguins teammates and they are obviously concerned for Letang and his health.
“They care about each other, as people,” Sullivan said. “And I think something like this puts things into perspective. We love the game, we compete hard, we live and die with winning and losing, but at the end of the day we care about people.”
While the early tests look encouraging, the Penguins plan to continue to test and evaluate Letang to make sure he is fully healthy, not just as a player, but as a person.
“We are going to continue to put as many tests as we need to do,” Hextall said. “Second opinions. Whatever we feel needs to be done.”
Hextall later called Letang a ‘tough S.O.B’ and talked about how much he means to the Penguins and the city.
Without a timetable for return, Hextall will turn his attention to putting together the best team possible.
While fans wait for Letang’s return to the ice as a player, it’s more important that Letang the person is healthy, as well.
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