Letang’s Surgery Not a Reaction, Just the Right Time

A day after Kris Letang underwent successful closure of a patent foramen ovale (PFO; small hole in the heart), which has an expected recovery time of 4-6 weeks, he was at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex before the guys took the ice for their final practice of the 2024-25 season.

“You see him around and hanging out, in good spirits, that’s all you can ask for,” Sidney Crosby said. "Given his history, I think you just want him to be healthy. That's the main thing. It seems like it's something that is fairly common. I think it's something that he's happy that he's got done. Hopefully, (it) helps him.”

In 2014, the defenseman missed over two months due to a stroke. During that time period, testing revealed he was born with that small hole in the wall of his heart. Although the small defect in the wall is apparent in all individuals, it typically closes on its own in most people.

After Letang suffered a second stroke in 2022, Penguins head team physician Dr. Dharmesh Vyas said the PFO could have created both of them. Letang returned to play less than two weeks later and has been in the lineup consistently ever since.

When it comes to the timing of Tuesday’s surgery, head coach Mike Sullivan said it was not reactionary in any way, and something Letang and the medical team have discussed for a long time.

“Given the circumstance with Kris right now – he’s banged up, he’s dealing with a lot of bumps and bruises – collectively, we thought as a group it made the most sense to have this procedure done at this particular time,” Sullivan said. “It isn’t anything that caused it. It was just something that has been an ongoing discussion for a long period of time now, and we just thought this was the opportune time to do it.”

Bryan Rust said that Letang helped ease their minds with how he approached it, saying, “he was really mature about it. He understood it needed to be done and just treated it that way. He didn’t treat it as if he was worried, which I think eased everybody’s mind, too.”

Letang’s teammates checked in with him before the procedure, with Erik Karlsson joking he half-expected to see him yesterday after it was done.

“He’s a maniac,” Karlsson said with a grin. “I'm happy everything went well. Hopefully it's 4-6 (weeks) and then he can continue doing his thing.”

Pittsburgh’s franchise blueliner has always found a way to do so despite the health scares he has faced throughout his career, which impresses everyone around him.

“I'm sure he's had some difficult moments and decisions. But he's handled it as good as you possibly can,” Crosby said. “His attitude, his mindset is pretty incredible, pretty strong.”

Crosby then paused and smiled. “It's that stubbornness, I think, that's served him well.”

Stubbornness balanced with caution, as Kris Letang the family man will always take priority over Kris Letang the hockey player, as he emphasized following his second stroke.

But as long as it’s safe for him to play, Letang will continue to do so, as he takes so much pride in putting himself in a position to keep playing at a high level.

“I think his ability to keep himself in peak physical condition separates him from a lot of people and allows him to be as good as he is [for a long time] and to play so many minutes,” Rust said. “I think his conditioning level and his commitment to health and nutrition and making sure his body is as good as it can be shows.”

“I think he wants to play until he's 50,” Crosby added with a laugh. “So, he makes it known that he wants to play for a long time.”