Letang of Penguins wins Masterton Trophy

NASHVILLE -- For Kris Letang, winning the Masterton Trophy at the 2023 NHL Awards at Bridgestone Arena on Monday was an acknowledgement of the support of his family, friends and Pittsburgh Penguins teammates as much as it was a recognition of him being the NHL player who best exemplified the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey this season.

"It's special for my family, to be honest," the 36-year-old defenseman said. "It's an award that you're not able to get if you don't have the people around you, starting with my wife, family, friends, obviously a great group of teammates that I have in Pittsburgh for so many years, coaches, strength coach.

"So, it's a special night for all of them because they all have a little part of this."

Letang was accompanied by his wife Catherine, son Alexander, 10, and daughter Victoria, 4, in Nashville along with fellow Penguins defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph, who lives with his family during the season. Joseph went on stage before the Masterton winner was announced to tell the story of how Letang had a stroke Nov. 28, 2022 and returned to play 12 days later, leading the Penguins in ice time (22:14) in a 3-1 win against the Buffalo Sabres on Dec. 10.

It was the second stroke of Letang's hockey career. He missed more than two months after having one during the 2013-14 season. He also missed 11 games from Dec. 30-Jan. 22 with a broken foot and following the death of his father Claude Fouquet. He returned Jan. 24 and had two goals and two assists, including the winning goal, in a 7-6 overtime victory against the Florida Panthers.

"I think it just showed that you're always going to have tough times and to be surrounded by good people and by your teammates, by your family, it's always important," Joseph said. "Stuff like that happens in life and it's always about how you come back from things like that. So, I think he answered well after his comeback and we're just happy to see him back in the locker room because he's a big piece of us, for sure."

Letang had 25 points (10 goals, 15 assists), including three overtime goals, in 35 games following his father's death and finished the season with 41 points (12 goals, 29 assists) in 64 games. He said the Penguins traveling to Montreal to attend his father's funeral helped him refocus emotionally for the remainder of the season.

"At some times, the mind wasn't there, and you don't want to come to the rink and show those emotions because your teammates are there, they have a job to do," Letang said. "I think what they did for me in Montreal to come down and be a part of the funeral and being there for me and my family kind of triggered something in me.

"That's at the point where my wife said, 'You should actually go back to the rink and change your mind and try to forget about what happened in the last few months and try to get back on track, and the guys will be there for you.' I think that's where it all started."

RELATED: [Video: Letang talks about winning the Masterton Trophy]

Letang, who finished third in voting for the Masterton in 2014-15, is the first Penguins player to win the award since Mario Lemieux in 1992-93.

The local chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) submitted nominations for the Masterton Trophy at the conclusion of the regular season and the top three vote-getters -- Letang, Arizona Coyotes forward Clayton Keller and Chicago Blackhawks goalie Alex Stalock were designated as finalists.

A $2,500 grant from the PHWA is awarded annually to the Bill Masterton Scholarship Fund, based in Bloomington, Minn., in the name of the Masterton Trophy winner.

Video: Letang talks about winning the Masterton Trophy

NHL.com staff writer David Satriano contributed to this report