Letang had surgery to repair a small hole in his heart and will be out 4-6 weeks, the Penguins announced Wednesday.
Letang will miss the Penguins' season finale against the Capitals on Thursday but should be healthy with plenty of time ahead of the 2025-26 campaign, given his timeline. The 37-year-old blueliner will end the year having recorded nine goals and 21 helpers in 74 games, his first time missing the 40-point threshold since 2016-17 when he played in only 41 contests. Without Letang in the lineup, either Pierre-Olivier Joseph (upper body), Filip Kral or Vladislav Kolyachonok will step onto the blue line.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Tallies in Tuesday's win
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Letang scored a goal on two shots and went plus-2 in Tuesday's 5-0 win over the Blackhawks.
Letang has two points over his last three games, and this goal snapped a stretch of 20 contests in which he was limited to eight assists and 44 shots on net. The 37-year-old blueliner is up to 30 points, but this is still likely to be his lowest-scoring campaign since 2013-14, when he had 22 points over just 37 outings. Letang has added 161 shots on net, 114 hits, 98 blocked shots, 48 PIM and a minus-15 rating through 72 appearances this season.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Snaps slump Saturday
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Letang posted an assist, two shots on goal, four PIM, two blocked shots and a plus-3 rating in Saturday's 5-3 win over the Stars.
The helper snapped a six-game slump for Letang, who had earned four assists over five contests prior to the drought. The 37-year-old defenseman has had some cold stretches this season, which is to be expected at his age while playing for a declining team. He's at eight goals, 21 helpers, 158 shots on net, 112 hits, 98 blocked shots, 48 PIM and a minus-16 rating through 70 outings overall.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Staying consistent on offense
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Letang logged an assist and blocked four shots in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Islanders.
Letang has not gone more than two games without a point since the 4 Nations Face-Off break. Over his last 13 outings, he has a goal, seven assists, a plus-1 rating, 27 shots on net and 29 blocked shots. The 37-year-old blueliner is at 28 points, 139 shots on net, 99 hits, 88 blocks and a minus-15 rating through 63 contests overall. This will likely end up being his lowest-scoring season in eight years, and given his age, he's not a good bounce-back candidate for future campaigns.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Four helpers in seven games
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Letang logged a power-play assist, two shots on goal and four blocked shots in Sunday's 3-1 win over the Wild.
This was Letang's fourth helper in seven games and his first contribution on the power play in that span. He set up Evgeni Malkin's opening tally in the second period. Letang is up to 25 points (10 on the power play), 134 shots on net, 98 hits, 72 blocked shots and a minus-18 rating over 59 contests in a top-four role this season.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Lights lamp Saturday
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Letang recorded a power-play goal, a minus-2 rating and three shots during Saturday's 8-3 loss to the Capitals.
Letang ended a 21-game goalless drought with his first-period marker, bringing him to eight tallies and 21 points in 51 appearances this season. The 37-year-old's days as an elite fantasy defender might be behind him, but Letang will continue to have fantasy relevance while feeding pucks to Sidney Crosby on Pittsburgh's top power-play unit.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Adds helper Saturday
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Letang had an assist and two shots on net in Saturday's 3-0 victory over Nashville.
The blueliner's helper came on Philip Tomasino's goal in the first period. Letang has three assists in his past six games, which is his strongest offensive output since early December (six points in four appearances). The 37-year-old has seven goals, 13 assists and 106 shots on goal across 47 outings this year. He is well off the pace to match his season total of 51 points from a year ago but still provides good category coverage with shots on net, hits and blocks. While better options are on the waiver wire, he still skates over 23 minutes per game for the Penguins and has time to turn this season around.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Assist in road loss
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Letang dished out a helper and had four shots on goal in Saturday's 4-1 loss to the Kraken.
Despite the road loss, Letang remained active on the offensive end. With the assist, he has 19 points and 100 shots on goal this season. The 37-year-old defenseman has just three points throughout January and is off the pace to match his output of 51 points a season ago. Unless he can find a way to become a more integral part of the offense, he is likely to chalk the 2024-25 season as a year of regression. Letang's track record makes him a fantasy file to hold onto in all league formats, but there are likely stronger options on the waiver wire.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Manages helper Monday
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Letang notched an assist, two blocked shots and a plus-2 rating in Monday's 5-1 win over the Kings.
Letang picked up his first point over two outings since he missed a game due to an illness. He has just two helpers over eight appearances in January. The 37-year-old blueliner has struggled on offense this season with 18 points, 93 shots on net and a minus-14 rating through 42 contests, and he's added 75 hits and 49 blocked shots.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Ready to rock
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Letang (illness) will play against Washington on Saturday.
Letang will return to the top pairing and should see power-play time after missing Friday's 5-2 win over Buffalo. He has produced seven goals, 17 points, 92 shots on net, 45 blocked shots and 71 hits in 40 appearances this season. Letang will replace Pierre-Olivier Joseph (illness) in Saturday's lineup.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Game-time call
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Letang (illness) will be a game-time decision Saturday versus Washington, per Tom Gulitti of NHL.com.
Letang missed Friday's 5-2 win over Buffalo due to the illness. He has seven goals, 17 points, 18 PIM, 71 hits and 45 blocks in 40 appearances in 2024-25. If Letang returns Saturday, Ryan Graves could be a healthy scratch.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Not playing Friday
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Letang (illness) is not in the lineup for Friday's game versus the Sabres.
Letang dealt with a lower-body injury in late December and early January, but the Penguins later revealed he is under the weather rather than hurt. Owen Pickering and Ryan Graves will both be in the lineup, while Letang is likely questionable to play Saturday versus the Capitals.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: First point since return
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Letang notched an assist, two shots on goal and two hits in Tuesday's 4-2 loss to the Kraken.
The helper was Letang's first point in six games since he returned from a lower-body injury. The 37-year-old blueliner has seen plenty of ice time in a top-four role, but he's had some trouble getting involved on offense this season. He's at 17 points, 92 shots on net, 71 hits, 45 blocked shots and a minus-15 rating over 40 appearances. Letang hasn't finished below a 0.5 points-per-game pace since 2009-2010, but that could change in 2024-25 if he doesn't heat up.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Removed from IR
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Letang (lower body) was activated from injured reserve Sunday.
Pittsburgh moved Philip Tomasino (lower body) to the IR list in a corresponding move. Letang will return to the top pairing and first power-play unit versus Carolina on Sunday after missing the last three games. He has produced seven goals, 16 points, 84 shots on net, 43 blocked shots and 56 hits in 34 appearances this season. With Letang back, Ryan Graves will be a healthy scratch versus the Hurricanes.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Lands on IR
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Letang (lower body) was placed on injured reserve Tuesday, per the NHL media site.
Pittsburgh activated Marcus Pettersson (lower body) from injured reserve in a corresponding move. Letang won't be eligible to return until at least Jan. 5 against Carolina following his placement on the IR list. He has amassed seven goals, 16 points, 84 shots on net, 43 blocked shots and 56 hits in 34 appearances this season.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Unavailable against Detroit
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Letang (lower body) won't play in Tuesday's road game against the Red Wings, according to Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Letang was injured in Saturday's loss to the Islanders, as he was unable to suit up in Sunday's rematch against New York. He'll miss his second straight game Tuesday, and given that he's not skating, the right-shot blueliner's status for Friday's contest against Florida seems murky at best. Marcus Pettersson (lower body) might be able to return Tuesday in Detroit, which would help offset the loss of Letang.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Unavailable Sunday
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Letang (lower body) won't play Sunday versus the Islanders.
Letang had one shot on goal, one hit and two blocked shots in 25:04 of ice time in Saturday's 6-3 loss to the Islanders. He has seven goals and 16 points through 34 appearances this season. Letang will be replaced in Sunday's lineup by Nate Clurman.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Finds twine Saturday
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Letang scored a goal in Saturday's 3-2 overtime loss to the Senators.
Even though Letang endured a slow start to the campaign, the 37-year-old is showing he still has something left in the tank, with points in four consecutive games and six of the last seven. Letang has posted five goals and four assists in that seven-game stretch, with two of those goals coming on the power play and another shorthanded. With 15 points in 29 games overall, Letang is undoubtedly trending in the right direction after being almost a non-factor in most fantasy formats during the first few weeks of the campaign.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Two points in blowout win
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Letang scored a goal on three shots, added an assist and logged two PIM in Thursday's 9-2 win over the Canadiens.
Both of Letang's points came on the power play. The 37-year-old defenseman has turned up the offense lately with four goals and four helpers over his last six contests, with five of those points coming on the power play in addition to one shorthanded goal. Overall, he has 14 points (eight on the power play), 75 shots on net, 46 hits, 31 blocked shots, 16 PIM and a minus-12 rating through 28 outings.
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Penguins' Kris Letang: Pots empty-netter
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Letang scored a shorthanded empty-net goal, fired seven shots on net, went plus-3, added two PIM, levied two hits and blocked two shots in Saturday's 5-2 win over the Maple Leafs.
Letang racked up plenty of non-scoring production before putting away the final goal of the game. He's scored three times and added two assists over his last four games. The defenseman is up to five goals, 11 points, 69 shots on net, 46 hits, 29 blocked shots, 14 PIM and a minus-11 rating over 26 appearances. Letang has logged at least one shorthanded point in four of the last six campaigns, but it doesn't represent an outsized portion of his offense.
