PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Kris Letang wasn’t speculated to be right here, at the least that is what he stated to reporters earlier this week because the Penguins’ all-star defenseman contemplated what it means to play 1,000 video games within the Nationwide Hockey League. 

“There have been a variety of days after I did not suppose I might get right here,” he stated. “I by no means actually thought today would come. That is the entire thing. That is going to be an extremely special occasion for me personally due to every thing I have been via. A whole lot of days, I did not suppose it was going to occur.” 

Tonight, when the Penguins tackle the Philadelphia Flyers at PPG Paints Area, they’re going to honor Letang with a pre-game ceremony. 

Letang now joins his teammates Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as the one gamers to have performed in 1,000 video games with the Pittsburgh Penguins. 

Regardless of being a polarizing determine amongst followers and pundits, his teammates perceive his worth. 

“I believe he units the bar actually excessive; he units the usual excessive so far as how he approaches issues,” Sidney Crosby stated. “The way in which he trains, his dedication to getting higher at his age, nonetheless being the final man out on the ice every single day. I believe he is an ideal instance.”   

“He has a number of accidents, however he is all the time again, and all the time again sturdy,” Malkin added.

Drafted in the identical class as Sidney Crosby in 2005, Letang was the Penguins’ third-round choose, 62nd total,  and grew into the most effective defensemen in group historical past. 

For the majority of Kris Letang’s profession, he is served on the Penguins’ high defensive pairing, quarterbacked or been an enormous a part of the highest power-play unit, and persistently logs 20 or extra minutes per sport. 

“In case your coach has confidence to place you on the ice that a lot throughout a sport, that implies that’s the recipe that he desires to make use of to win,” the common-or-garden Letang stated. 

Not solely does he have all that to his identify – he additionally has a Stanley Cup-winning aim on his resume. 

In 2016, with the Penguins about to clinch their fourth Stanley Cup in franchise historical past, Letang obtained a move from Sidney Crosby – after Letang had made positive the group saved possession in San Jose’s zone – and beat goaltender Martin Jones on the brief aspect. 

It gave the Penguins a lead they might by no means relent and the 2016 Stanley Cup championship. 

It hasn’t been all championships and smiles for the Montreal native. 

The struggles have been a lot, each personally and professionally. 

Because the younger Penguins made their first look within the Stanley Cup Remaining in 2008, finally shedding to Detroit, Letang discovered his childhood finest buddy Luc Bourdon, who was with the Vancouver Canucks on the time, had been killed in a bike accident. 

Earlier this season, Letang was away from the group for some time after the passing of his father. 

Professionally, Letang has been put via the wringer, as effectively. 

In 2014, Penguins followers have been shocked once they discovered the information that Kris Letang has suffered a stroke. Medical doctors had decided Letang had a gap in his coronary heart from a beginning defect and missed six weeks as he underwent extra testing. 

This season, he suffered a second stroke however was gone for less than about 10 days. 

2017 could have been the hardest information. 

Because the group ready to defend its Stanley Cup championship and turn out to be the primary group within the NHL’s wage cap period to win back-to-back titles, Letang needed to bear neck surgical procedure that saved him from taking part in within the Stanley Cup Playoffs. 

The group would go on to win its second Stanley Cup in as a few years. 

“As you get nearer, you see the 2 guys that you’ve got performed your whole profession with, they get there, they’d their justifiable share of accidents, too, so I am fairly excited,” Letang stated. 

Now, 999 common season video games later, Kris Letang joins the 2 males he considers his finest pals as a part of a membership that perpetually put them within the halls of immortality in Pittsburgh – 1,000 video games performed, all in black and gold. 

In a season that has been a wrestle for the group that occupies the sector on Fifth Avenue, realizing that three titans within the franchise’s historical past proceed to play at a excessive stage collectively, is a consolation that’s a lot wanted.