Kris Letang was in the prime of his life and the prime of his career.
The Penguins’ top defenseman was a reigning Norris Trophy finalist, a 26-year-old who recently signed an eight-year, $58 million extension and welcomed his first child, Alexander, to the world.
But there he was, lying on his bedroom floor, unable to function when his wife woke up on Jan. 29. Letang later learned he had suffered a stroke, with doctors also discovering he had a small hole in his heart.
The recovery began. Hockey would have to wait. And hardest of all was telling his family what occurred, introducing a fear that may never fully fade.
“That was the difficult part, when you see your mom crying and your wife [crying],” Letang said when speaking to the media for the first time about the stroke, on Feb. 27. “It’s tough to believe. I’m in the .01 percentage. When I found out, I didn’t believe it. I didn’t even understand the word.”
The stroke was not believed to threaten his career, but the French Canadian defenseman didn’t know when he would be able to return. Coach Dan Bylsma said he didn’t think about Letang coming back this season because he didn’t think he could come back.
Then, 10 weeks after the stroke, Letang returned to the ice for the final three regular-season games.
“A month ago, I didn’t think about him playing one game. It just wasn’t a part of the thought process, in terms of our team,” Bylsma said on Tuesday, prior to Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the Rangers. “It’s really just a blessing to see him out there playing and playing at the level that he is for our team and playing so many minutes. It’s really just a blessing that he’s out there playing for us.”
Letang still was tentative when the first-round series against Columbus started, but the two-time All-Star has regained his aggression, averaging roughly 25 minutes per game against the Rangers as a key contributor on Pittsburgh’s attack, having posted the game-winning goal and two assists in Game 2.
“I’m less nervous, that’s for sure,” Letang said after Wednesday’s practice at Madison Square Garden. “It’s been [12] games, just trying to build off of every game of the things I do good.
“I’m not gonna lie, the first four games of the playoffs I was kind of scared to make mistakes. I got some critics last year on my defensive plays, so I was little bit on my heels, trying to accomplish too much. I just try to play my game. My game is being aggressive and skating and being able to be in the play all the time and supporting my forwards. Once I was able to do that, my game kind of changed.”
And so to could the Penguins’ postseason run.
“It’s definitely been a couple of tough months for him, but he’s back now and playing great,” center Brandon Sutter said. “At the time, it was pretty scary for everyone involved and something you don’t really see coming, but he’s been great since he’s come back. We definitely need him, so it’s good that he’s playing well and feeling well.”