In November he suffered a stroke. It wasn’t his first. In 2014 he had to miss two months due to a birth defect for the same problem. A few weeks later, the loss of his father Claude Fouquet hurt him. After the funeral, the Quebec defender stayed away for nearly a month, specifically to treat a lower body injury. Then, in early March, Letang was shot in the face by Tanner Jeannot of Lightning. More fear than harm this time. Letang even returned to action later in the game to help his teammates in their quest for playoff qualification.

Things have changed since that series of accidents. The Penguins have just won seven of their last nine games. They are fine. Letang is better too. He briefly returned to his heart problems on Tuesday morning.

“It’s never really behind me,” he explained. It happened several times. We really have a plan now that we’re going to execute. It will mean that I might have less stress or ulterior motives from all of this. But everything is stable. Everything is perfect. There is no problem. »

A few yards away, in the Penguins’ locker room, his captain and friend Sidney Crosby stood admiringly. “It’s quite difficult to describe what [Kristopher] lived. Or how strong he was through the trials. As teammates, we try to support him as much as possible. The entire team traveled to Quebec in mid-January to attend Letang’s father’s funeral. “But in the end, he’s the one who has to deal with all of this. We always knew that he had a strong character. The past year has certainly been a challenge for him. It’s amazing how he handled it. »

At 35, Kristopher Letang remains the rock of the Penguins’ defense, with more than 23 minutes per game and an elite offensive contribution, 15 points in 18 games, since his return in January.