Letang eager for 'another taste of the playoffs' with Penguins

CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Kris Letang was 25 years old when his son, Alex, was born in November 2012.

Victoria, a daughter, was welcomed in July 2018 by the defenseman and his wife, Catherine Laflamme.

The goal was always to start a family early in Letang’s career with the Pittsburgh Penguins. He wanted to share this. All of it.

“You know, it was one of those things that I was wondering earlier in my life,” Letang told NHL.com. “If I waited that long to have kids and they don’t see what I’ve done ... it would have been tough.”

Letang is 38 now. He played his 1,200th game, all with the Penguins, on Thursday. Alex has been around for most; Victoria has seen her share.

Alex, in particular, has watched him on the biggest stage. He was born after Letang lifted the Stanley Cup in 2009 but before he won it in 2016 and 2017.

The Stanley Cup Playoffs weren't a hope, but an expectation. Letang qualified for them in his first 16 seasons, but Pittsburgh has since missed the past three. And time could be running out for Alex and Victoria to see their dad on another deep run.

“I think we see the window, like, I’m talking about the length of our career, it’s getting on the short end of it,” Letang said. “You want another taste of the playoffs. It’s the best time of the year to play hockey. Every single guy that’s in this room, they’re eager to get back to that.”

Letang scored 58 seconds into overtime of his 1,200th game Thursday, capping a 4-3 home win against the Detroit Red Wings that the Penguins (18-12-9) hope is part of a midseason push. They've won three straight entering a rematch against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday (12 p.m. ET; ABC, SN, TVAS) and trail the Buffalo Sabres by one point for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

In his 20th season, Letang has 20 points (three goals, 17 assists) in 39 games. He has the most points (792), goals (178) and assists (614) by a defenseman in Pittsburgh history.

“You kind of take it for granted most of your career,” Letang said.

Not now. Not after it could have been cut short long ago.

“At certain points, you start realizing how lucky we are,” Letang said. “To have the chance to play that long with everything that happened throughout my career, it takes a big support cast, you know? Like a family that’s there for you, a good organization to help you out going through those things.”

Letang has had two strokes -- one in late January of 2014 and another on Nov. 28, 2022. A small hole in the wall of his heart was found after the first. It was fixed in a surgical procedure this past April.

There was neck surgery in April 2017. The resulting pain had Letang consider early retirement. Instead, he had 51 points (nine goals, 42 assists) in 79 games the following season.

“He takes a lot of pride in being able to play a lot of minutes and taking care of his body,” said Penguins captain Sidney Crosby, Letang’s teammate since 2006. “Those certain things that happened are out of your control, but I think he does everything in his power to be able to be consistent and, year after year, contribute.”

The end is closer than the beginning now. Nobody knows exactly when it’ll come, but it’s inevitable.

Letang is signed through 2027-28 on a six-year, $36.6 million contract ($6.1 million average annual value). He's likely to play it out.

But the ice time has dropped. Letang is averaging 21:38 per game this season under first-year coach Dan Muse, down from 24:07 in his career and 23:32 last season.

“He comes to work every single day,” Muse said. “Preparation, you know, daily habits, all those things. I think he’s a guy that every single day, he’s going to come to work. He’s going to come to compete.”

Letang is unbothered.

“You can’t play, sometimes, 28, 30 minutes,” Letang said. “You play 22 and, sometimes, those 22 minutes can feel like you played like 30. So, I don’t really pay attention to it. Doesn’t really affect you.”

It’s still a sign of change. Not the only one, either.

Letang is part of a core three, along with Crosby and fellow center Evgeni Malkin. At 20 seasons together, they are the longest-tenured trio in the history of major North American pro sports.

And this could be it.

Crosby has 43 points (23 goals, 20 assists) in 39 games this season at age 38. He’s signed through next season on a two-year, $17.4 million contract ($8.7 million AAV).

Malkin, however, is in the final season of a four-year, $24.4 million contract ($6.1 million AAV). At 39 years old, he has 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 26 games but is recovering from an upper-body injury that has sidelined him since Dec. 4.

“You’re starting to think about it, when you see contracts and stuff like that,” Letang said. “So, yeah, we want to give it our all. And we do every single year. It’s not like because it’s [Malkin’s] last year of his deal that we’re trying harder. We always do.

“We know how exciting it is to play in the playoffs. We want to have another run, for sure.”

Letang has had an impact, regardless of if that run comes. Evidence is never far away.

His influence can be seen in Alex, who recently turned 13 and is a forward on a peewee team. Now, it's Kris' turn to sit and watch.

“You don’t want to be overcoaching him,” Letang said. “You just wanted to give him some guidance and kind of, like, transmit your passion for hockey.”