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Kris Letang injury update: Penguins star out 4-6 months

By Dave Stevenson

Feb 17, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (58) against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets won 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 17, 2017; Columbus, OH, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang (58) against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Nationwide Arena. The Blue Jackets won 2-1 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /
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The Pittsburgh Penguins will have to try to defend their Stanley Cup title without star defenseman Kris Letang. 

Going into the 2016-17 NHL season, many had the Pittsburgh Penguins repeating as Stanley Cup champions. They’re in pretty good shape in the standings, as they sit in second place in the Metropolitan Division. Despite numerous injuries, the Penguins are among the NHL’s elite teams. However, their road to repeating as champions just got a lot bumpier. Star defenseman Kris Letang is out for the next four to six months with a herniated disc in his neck.

“Letang underwent an MRI in February that revealed a herniated disc in his neck,” Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said, via NHL.com. “Kris had been making progress and was hopeful of returning for the playoffs until about a week ago, when the progress plateaued. He underwent another MRI, and, at that point it was determined that surgery was needed.”

He’s been out since February, but had hoped to return without surgery. The herniated disc kills any hope of the Penguins getting their best defenseman back. While the Pens are starting to get fully healthy again, it’s hard to see them repeating without their best defenseman.

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It will be up to Justin Schultz and Brian Dumoulin to lead the charge without Letang. The former should replace him on the power play and has already seen an uptick in minutes since his injury. Letang has a long list of terrible injuries, including numerous concussions, a stroke, and complications from the stroke.

This season, he has 34 points in 41 games. Letang played over 28 minutes a night during last season’s Stanley Cup run, so this is a significant loss for the Penguins. Their defensive depth will face the very difficult task of replacing one of the best in the NHL.

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