After perhaps the most trying season of his NHL career, Kris Letang’s trademark perseverance has been formally recognized.
On Monday night at the 2023 NHL Awards held at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Letang was selected by the Pro Hockey Writers’ Association as this year’s recipient of the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. He is the first Penguins player to win the award since Mario Lemieux in 1993.
The Masterton is awarded annually to the NHL player “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.” Masterton is the only NHL player to die as a direct result of injury during a game.
Letang, 36, was in town to accept the award and, before turning serious, joked with his classic smile that he would’ve preferred to receive some different hardware.
“I'm not gonna lie, I always dreamt of being up here and receiving a trophy, but that was not the one. It always means something bad happened,” Letang said on TNT’s television broadcast. “This trophy, I'm the most proud because today, I'm a father and my kids will see this in the house and they're gonna know that their father never gave up in anything.
“So, this is our family trophy.”
Letang dealt with a myriad of challenges in his 17th season, all within a four-week span. In turn, he was nominated for the Masterton for the fourth time by the Pittsburgh chapter of the PHWA. This year marked the second time Letang was a finalist, also earning the designation following the 2014-15 season in which he suffered the first stroke of his playing career.
The hardships started for Letang in the 2022-23 campaign with a second stroke on Nov. 28. He didn’t feel right after a Penguins practice at the Hunt Armory, reported his symptoms to the team’s medical staff and was later diagnosed with a stroke at the hospital.
Twelve days later, Letang returned to the lineup for a game against the Buffalo Sabres at PPG Paints Arena, but more tribulations were in store. He suffered a lower-body injury at the end of December, which teammate Pierre-Olivier Joseph said at the awards show was a broken foot.
Regardless, Letang stayed with the team to travel to Boston for the Winter Classic.
Upon arriving in Beantown, Letang learned that his father, Claude Fouquet, had passed away. Letang departed for Montreal to be with his family for a leave of absence, spending the majority of 15 days away from the team.
After the Penguins played against the Arizona Coyotes in Phoenix on Jan. 8, the team detoured overnight to be with Letang for his father’s funeral in Montreal.
“Kris has always been there for myself and the team,” said Joseph, who doubles as Letang’s roommate. “We had to be there for him and his family.”
The touching gesture resonated with Letang, who would return to the Penguins on Jan. 17 to finish rehabbing his injury.
“It was huge. It’s been happening for a lot of years. It’s not only this year,” Letang said. “I can count on a lot of good friends. Obviously, Sid [Crosby] and Geno [Malkin] have been with me for 17 years. So those two guys have always been there for me. They also know what it’s like to not be able to play.”
Letang was inserted back into the lineup on Jan. 24 and did so in triumphant fashion, scoring the overtime winner in a thrilling 7-6 victory against the Florida Panthers.
Following a difficult season on the ice to start the year, Letang responded with some stellar play down the stretch, recording 10 goals and 25 points in his final 35 games. Despite missing 18 contests, his 12 goals and 29 assists each paced all Penguins defensemen while averaging nearly 25 minutes of ice time per game.
“Despite all this hardship, Kris came back with his good spirit and led the team on and off the ice,” Joseph said. “He’s someone who's always there for his family, his friends and his team.”
During his acceptance speech, Letang extended several thanks to Fenway Sports Group, his teammates, coaches, Dr. Dharmesh Vyas – who has served as the team’s head physician since 2013 – and his strength coach, Jonathan Chaimberg.
But most importantly, Letang said, was to thank his wife, Catherine, for being so willing to raise their two kids in light of the difficult circumstances.
“I still don’t know how you do it. It’s pretty amazing that you still let me go back to work and do what I love to do on the ice,” Letang said during his speech. “I’m truly thankful for that with the stress and everything that is happening in our lives every single year for some reason. You still raise those two beautiful kids and I’m thankful for that. Love you.”
Speaking about returning to play at the end of the season, Letang was candid about what place hockey should hold in his future. In April, he admitted that the past season had been a difficult one for him.
“Obviously, there were some tough times, some emotional times,” Letang said. “But at the end of the day, I always thought I was going to push through it and come out on the other side and be the same — or better.”
Certainly, the other two finalists for the Masterton dealt with their own challenges, too. Coyotes forward Clayton Keller returned for a full 82-game season after fracturing a femur in March of 2022. Chicago Blackhawks goalie Alex Stalock played in 27 games this season after playing in just one contest over the previous two campaigns. Stalock was diagnosed with myocarditis and also dealt with COVID-19 over the last few years.
Despite Keller and Stalock’s respective stories of perseverance, it was Letang’s that stood a cut above. Though he certainly recognized the importance of aspects of life outside of hockey this season, the game remained an integral part of Letang’s life even as he dealt with bouts of adversity.
While he thanked several individuals for helping him push through an arduous season, Letang a few months ago looked no further than mom and dad to thank for developing his well-documented resolve.
“It’s something I always took pride in, being able to bring it every day. That’s how I was raised, also, to never back down from a challenge, to never kind of quit when you’re down,” Letang said. “My parents, my family, they were the big supporters. So, obviously, they [instilled] those qualities in me at an early age.”
Andrew Destin: adestin@post-gazette.com and Twitter @AndrewDestin1.
First Published: June 27, 2023, 1:00 a.m.
Updated: June 27, 2023, 9:40 a.m.