BOSTON – Kris Letang left the Winter Classic to return to Montreal after the death of his father, Penguins coach Mike Sullivan announced Monday morning.
Letang, his wife and his two children were here at Fenway Park on Sunday, when the Penguins practiced at the iconic ballpark then had an open skate with friends and family. Letang did not practice due to a lower-body injury but watched as his son, Alex, passed the puck around with Nikita Malkin, Evgeni’s son.
But Letang and his family soon left Boston after they received the unfortunate news that his father, Claude Fouquet, had passed. Claude supported Letang’s passion for hockey as a young boy by selling 18-wheeler semi-trucks. He occasionally took Letang to watch his hometown Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre.
The Penguins did not provide a timeline of when Letang might rejoin the team.
The All-Star defenseman was not expected to play in Monday’s Winter Classic at Fenway Park anyway. He missed Friday’s game with a lower-body injury and did not even put on his gear for the team photo snapped at Sunday’s skate.
The death of his father was another blow to Letang and his family. Letang had a stroke, the second in his life, on Nov. 28 and he missed five games while awaiting word from doctors that it was OK for him to resume his playing career.
In 29 games this season, he has two goals, 16 points and a minus-12 rating.
The Penguins will be thin on their blue line Monday afternoon against the Boston Bruins. Letang and Jeff Petry are out for the sixth outdoor game in team history. Chad Ruhwedel, dealing with an upper-body injury, is a game-time call.
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: January 2, 2023, 5:35 p.m.
