Penguins teammates express relief as defenseman Kris Letang recovers from stroke

The Pittsburgh Penguins were in a no-good, rotten mood Tuesday night.

Then, came the bad news.

And perspective.

At 9:36 p.m., they were furious following a 3-2 overtime home loss to the Carolina Hurricanes at PPG Paints Arena. The source of their rancor was the lack of a penalty over Hurricanes forward Seth Jarvis delivering a dangerous check to Penguins forward Bryan Rust during overtime. In the ensuing chaos, the Hurricanes were able to claim victory when defenseman Brett Pesce scored the winning goal.

Less than five minutes later, their fury gave way to concern.

That’s when they learned their teammate, All-Star defenseman Kris Letang, suffered a stroke for the second time in his career and was hospitalized Monday.

Following the contest, coach Mike Sullivan, addressed the players in the dressing room to appraise them of Letang’s status. Present in the moment was Letang, there to assure his teammates he was safe, relatively speaking.

“It was crazy,” forward Teddy Blueger said. “It was kind of almost hard to comprehend. He’s got that history. He wasn’t feeling well but obviously had no idea of the extent of it. It’s kind of scary. Hard to believe. It took a little bit to sink in.”

Forward Ryan Poehling described the shift in mindset.

“Obviously, (Letang’s) news was a lot more disheartening than the loss,” Poehling said. “The loss itself was tough, and it (stinks) how it ended. But hearing (of Letang’s situation), you just hope and pray that he’s all right and his family is doing well.”

By the team’s account, Letang, who suffered a more serious stroke in 2014, is doing well all things considered.

On Thursday morning, Letang took to the ice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry for a brief skating session.

As Sullivan described it, the motivation for Letang putting on skates wasn’t necessarily rooted in any physical concerns.

“He hasn’t been cleared (for) anything from a specific hockey standpoint at this point,” Sullivan said following an optional morning skate at PPG Paints Arena. “What he has done — I think more for his own mental health — he was at the practice rink this morning. He did go for a twirl on the ice, and he did get approval from our doctors in that regard. But it’s nothing from a team standpoint or anything other than his own peace of mind. He is active, yes. He continues to go through some testing, but he is being closely monitored by our team doctors that are advising him every day and advising us every day.

“Obviously, we will err on the side of caution with this one.”

Letang’s presence in the dressing room as the news was delivered following Tuesday’s contest provided an incalculable benefit to his teammates.

“It was important to see him and talk to him,” Blueger said. “It’s one thing if they tell you he’s doing well and stuff and doing OK. But to see him and actually see that, that was nice and reassuring.”

Defenseman Chad Ruhwedel agreed.

“Definitely important being able to see him there and kind of relieve some doubt,” Ruhwedel said. “They were very reassuring that he was doing well, out of the hospital, obviously, and was able to be here with us. So that was a good sign.”

Letang’s teammates were brief on specifics as to what conversations they’ve had with him since he took ill. Rookie defenseman P.O Joseph, who is very close with Letang, a fellow Quebecois, politely — but firmly — called for privacy on Letang’s behalf.

“It’s definitely something that we try to keep inside of here,” Joseph said. “It’s not everyone’s business. It’s (his) personal life, and I think he deserves some privacy.”

Joseph did share one axiom about Letang, however.

“He’s always in a good spirit,” Joseph said. “He’s definitely a good person.”

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