Welcome to our series on who wore each number best for the Penguins.
The idea is being openly borrowed from our new hockey writer, Cody Tucker, and his project at the Lansing State Journal covering all the uniform numbers worn through Michigan State football history, one that’s been well received by their readers and prompted heavy discussion and debate.
Under the organization of Taylor Haase, and following the voting of a big chunk of our staff, we’ll publish one new one each day until completion, which should be right around the start of training camp.
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Name: Kris Letang
Number: 58
Position: Defenseman
Born: April 24, 1987, in Montreal
Seasons with Penguins: 2006-current
Statistics with Penguins: 682 games, 96 goals, 341 assists in regular season; 128 games, 21 goals, 55 assists in playoffs.
WHY LETANG?
OK, for full disclosure: Only one player has worn the No. 58 in the 51-year history of the Penguins. But even if dozens had donned the digits, it's hard to see how any of them would have topped -- as Pierre McGuire calls him -- Kristopher Letang.
He is not only the best player to wear 58, he's arguably the finest defenseman in team history.
Unlike Paul Coffey, Larry Murphy, Sergei Gonchar and whoever else, the French Canadian is a true Pittsburgh Penguin. Letang didn't play out the string in Black and Gold, he is Black and (for a time, Vegas) Gold. Along with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury, he's been a franchise cornerstone who shaped the Penguins' renaissance in the mid-2000s.
A three-time Stanley Cup champion, Letang is the franchise's all-time leader in assists by a defenseman and is second all-time in games played, goals and points. And, barring something unforeseen, he'll be the leader in games and points early next season.
Not bad for an undersized defenseman who was the 22nd blueliner selected in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
Letang's career has been marked by his otherworldly skating ability (he's one of the most fluid defensemen since Scott Niedermayer) and his strong two-way game (a minute-muncher who plays in every situation). No goal better demonstrates that, or was more important, than his game-winning goal in Game 6 of the 2016 Stanley Cup Final against the Sharks in San Jose:
The two-time All-Star and 2012-13 Norris Trophy Finalist figured in the scoring in all four of the Penguins' game-winning goals in the 2016 Final.
But his career is also marked by personal adversity (numerous concussions and even a stroke) that has probably kept him from winning the Norris Trophy. And, of course, he plays with a reckless abandon and a fiery temperament that has cost him at times:
All of the above have come to define Letang, at times a polarizing figure to a finicky fanbase.
He is coming off perhaps his most challenging season as a pro. After missing all of the Penguins' 2017 Stanley Cup run after undergoing neck surgery, he returned in time for the start of the following season but he was plagued by inconsistency and poor decision-making with and without the puck.
WHAT'S HE DOING NOW?
Given the way his season ended, you can expect that Letang is training hard as we speak. The 31-year-old is one of the most well-conditioned athletes in the NHL. Robbed of the opportunity to get his full off-season workout regimen in last summer due to his injury, look for Letang to bounce back in 2018-19. Away from hockey, Letang and his wife, Catherine Laflamme, welcomed a baby girl, Victoria, into the world last month. She is the couple's second child. Letang is signed through the 2021-22 season.
IT WAS SPOKEN
“What you just saw Kris do … there’s no defenseman anywhere who can do that. I wouldn’t trade him for anyone. Not anyone. And that’s because I know what’s inside. I know what he’s made of.” -- Jim Rutherford, after Penguins won Stanley Cup in 2016.
“I always think about it. What if some nights I didn’t take those hits and I just tried to live for another day? You know, it was me. It was my personality. I’m a guy that’s trying on every little play. I won’t live with regrets. I’m part of a team that knows what kind of player I am and I’m ready to put everything on the line. I won’t have any regrets because of that.” -- Letang, on his style of play and having no regrets.
HONORABLE MENTION AT NO. 58
None
ANY DEBATE?
Zero. Zilch. Nada.
Tomorrow: I have No. 59.
Yesterday: Shawn Heins
