This was such sad news to hear. Kris Letang has unfortunately suffered the second stroke of his 16-year career, putting his time with the Penguins and the NHL on an indefinite hold as he recovers.
First off, let me just say that this is really heartbreaking news. Not only did Letang come off a career year last season at the age of 34 with 68 points from the blueline, but he also was rewarded for said production with a lucrative, six-year contract extension worth $36.6M.
It’s terrible to hear about anyone suffering such a debilitating and dreadful illness, such as a stroke, but it’s even worse when they are still able to perform their job at a high level.
Just like how a Pittsburgh coal miner getting a stroke would ruin his chances of returning to the mines, a 35-year-old hockey player getting a stroke all but ensures their career is over too. Fortunately, Letang has been well-paid through his career and does not need to rely on the extension money to see himself and his family by. Furthermore, it sounds like Letang is in good shape now and there is no concern for any lasting health effects.
Yet, this latest ‘injury’ (so to speak) for the Penguins is sadly a reminder that the days of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang dominating the NHL seem to have come to an end.
Now, I don’t want to use this horrific illness as a cheap way to spread an obvious message that the Penguins team is collapsing in on itself as that is not only disrespectful to Letang and his family, but also in just poor taste. Rather, all I would like to point out is that it’s sad to see such legends of the modern game go out in this way.
With Malkin and Letang, it is clear that their best days are now behind them. Injuries and illnesses have caught up with them and has robbed them of their explosive, end-to-end speed and tremendous longevity. I hope Letang sees this latest stroke as a sign that it’s better to give up the game in order to live a happy life out of it, rather than come back for the remainder of his extension and risk harming himself more.
As for Malkin, he still has enough ‘gas in the tank’ left to get 60-65 points in the NHL, but he should also start to think about life after too. All of these niggling and nagging injuries he’s picked up in his career (fortunately, he’s been able to stay healthy this season) catch up with one right about at his age.
Finally, Sidney Crosby might actually be the last of the trio to stay in the NHL, which would have seemed impossible a few years ago. Plagued with devastating concussion problems all through his early years in the league, Crosby has been able to stay remarkably healthy and consistent these last 7-8 years.
Not only has he been able to bring two more Stanley Cups to Pittsburgh (2016 and 2017), but he has also still been able to keep up his point-per-game scoring. Just like he is this year as he has 31 points (12 G, 19 AST) in just 23 games.
It’s incredible how durable and productive he’s been for Pittsburgh with all of the changes and aging that the Penguins have endured since the back-to-back championship runs. Sadly, for this reason, I would have to believe that Crosby should realistically look to play on a contending team elsewhere once his contract expires in two years.
The Penguins are on the precipice of a major rebuild once the trio retires/leaves, and I don’t think that’s a situation Crosby wants to be a part of to cap off his incredible, Top-10 NHL great career.
So, like I said, this Letang news is just a sad reminder that the great teams of the late 2000’s and the early 2010’s are finally running their course with the Penguins 3X cup-winning trio seemingly on the verge of becoming a duo.
Images Source: Featured Image: (Wikipedia Creative Commons License/Author: Michael Miller) (Michael Miller, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons)
