Penguins defenseman Kris Letang underwent profitable surgical procedure to shut a small gap in his coronary heart referred to as a patent foramen ovale, the group announced. He’ll miss the group’s remaining regular-season recreation however is anticipated again for coaching camp within the fall. The restoration time for the process is 4 to 6 weeks.
It’s a scary headline for a player who’s had a few of them in his lengthy career, so such a brief recovery window immediately comes across as good news. The two-time All-Star had strokes that caused him to miss significant portions of the 2013-14 and 2022-23 seasons, as well as a herniated disk in his neck that kept him from suiting up in the Penguins’ run to the Stanley Cup in 2017. While PFOs are usually innocuous and occur in about 25% of people, it does lead to an increased risk of stroke, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Letang, who turns 38 later this month, continued to be a workhorse in his nineteenth NHL season. His 17:53 of ice time in his remaining look of the marketing campaign in opposition to the Bruins on Sunday was a season-low and the primary time he’d logged beneath 20 minutes in a recreation since Jan. 8, 2024.
Because the 2023 Masterton Trophy winner crosses into the second half of the six-year, $36.6M extension he signed in 2022, his offensive manufacturing has begun to say no considerably. He posted 9-21-30 in 74 video games this 12 months for a 0.41 factors per recreation price, his worst for the reason that 2009-10 marketing campaign. The drop-off in level totals this season was accompanied by the worst possession metrics of his profession, together with a 48.6 CF% at even energy that was 3.1% worse relative to his teammates. His 47.4% anticipated targets share at even energy was additionally his worst for the reason that stat was tracked in 2008.
But with few affect choices on this summer time’s free agent market and the future of Erik Karlsson in Pittsburgh in query, Letang will doubtless once more open coaching camp within the fall because the Pens’ unquestioned No. 1 defender, at the least when it comes to deployment. Letang has averaged over 21 minutes per recreation for the final 17 seasons.
