CRANBERRY, Pa. — Kris Letang returned to practice with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday, 10 days after having a stroke.
The 35-year-old defenseman took the ice in a regular contact jersey after missing the past four games. The Penguins gave Letang, who is day to day, a stick tap after the whistle to start practice.
Letang had skated on his own before practices since having a stroke Nov. 28.
“‘Stroke’ is a scary word,” Letang said. “I’m lucky to have the staff we have. I know I’m in good hands. I’ve been lucky that these things resolve on their own, can go back to a normal life. People know me well by now. They know that hockey is a passion for me. It’s something that is going to take a lot to drag me out of it.
“At the same time, I know the danger. I know everything. I made sure I know all the risks I’m taking. If there’s none, I will resume playing. That’s what’s the case right now.”
Letang did not play against the Buffalo Sabers at KeyBank Center on Friday.
Letang rotated with Chad Ruhwedel on a defense pair next to Pierre-Olivier Joseph. Letang is on the top pair when healthy, most recently with Marcus Pettersson. Jeff Petry Remained on the top pair with Pettersson in practice.
“I think everybody is excited when he gets to join the team,” coach Mike Sullivan said. “It’s an indication of the progress that he’s made. He’s obviously a huge part of this team. He’s close friends with all of his teammates. We all care about him. So to see him on the ice, I think for all of us, it’s a little bit of a sense of relief.”
Letang previously was out more than two months after having a stroke at some point before the Penguins played at the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 30, 2014. Tests revealed he was born with a very small hole in the wall of his heart, which typically closes on its own in most people.
There is nothing unique about hockey that could worsen Letang’s condition, Penguins head team physician Dr. Dharmesh Vyas said.
“Certainly it’s not the sport that created this problem for him,” Vyas said. “He had a risk just of having this hole in his heart that created a stroke twice now in his body. So we don’t think playing a sport itself is risky for him.”
The three-time Stanley Cup champion (2009, 2016, 2017) returned on April 9, 2014, and had four points (one goal, three assists) in the final three regular-season games, then had six points (two goals, four assists ) in 13 games during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Since his first stroke, Letang has played 543 regular-season games and 69 playoff games. This stroke was not as severe as the first one, general manager Ron Hextall said Nov. 30.
After practicing fully Nov. 28, Letang had a migraine that prompted him to call head athletic trainer Chis Stewart. He was then told by Dr. Vyas to go to the hospital immediately. Letang was unaware he had a stroke.
Letang said he has experienced migraines regularly in the past, but they would alleviate after about two hours.
“It starts with a half hour, I’m struggling with my vision. I get headaches,” Letang said. “I get nauseous. Either I throw up or I go to sleep and it kind of wears off and I’m good to go. Usually I get maybe one, or maybe two, every two months. But they were, like, happening like every three hours. It kept coming, coming, coming.
“That’s when I made notice of that cycle. I called the doc, I called ‘Stewy.’ I said, ‘I think there’s something wrong.’ They booked me an MRI right away. That’s where we found out.”
Letang attended a 3-2 overtime loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Nov. 29, speaking with Hextall throughout the second period and appearing in the locker room after the game.
Hextall said he expected the Penguins to play for Letang. They have won three straight by a combined score of 14-6 since he’s been out.
“It’s great,” Pittsburgh captain Sidney Crosby said of Letang practicing. “He’s been skating a little bit here. I think it just means things are going well. It’s great to see him out there with us. … Based on the fact he was skating, I think we knew things went well.”
Letang first skated Dec. 1, working at Pittsburgh’s practice facility as the Penguins had an optional morning skate at PPG Paints Arena. He had not been cleared for hockey-related activity and was skating to have peace of mind, Sullivan said.
On Dec. 3, Sullivan said Letang had begun working out “a little bit.” Letang worked through simple drills with forwards Ryan Poehlingwho is day to day because of an upper-body injury, and assistant coach Ty Hennes before a practice Monday.
Letang leads the Penguins in ice time per game (23:54) and has 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in 21 games this season. He agreed to a six-year, $36.6 million contract ($6.1 million average annual value) with Pittsburgh on July 7 after he had an NHL career-high 68 points (10 goals, 58 assists) in 78 games last season.
Letang has played 17 seasons with Pittsburgh and ranks first among Penguins defenseman in games (962), goals (145), assists (517) and points (662).
“Mentally I feel good to be back, to be honest,” Letang said. “It’s always hard to be on the sidelines. I know health comes first. … We’re taking all the time we need to figure this thing out. Like [Dr. Vyas] said, when I feel ready to go and practice like I did today, he’s going to give me the green light, if it’s safe to do.”
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