One of the best defenceman of his career’s era is having offseason surgery. Kris LeTang of the Pittsburgh Penguins had a finger injury, and went under the knife May 10th. He should be back to full health in eight weeks. Furthermore, John Ludvig and Matt Nieto had recent surgeries as well. Neither is 100% certain to be back by training camp, but should before Christmas.
Kris LeTang Had to Repair a Finger Injury
Kris LeTang has been one of the most productive defencemen since he entered the league during the 2006-07 season. Having him miss time, is not good for the Pittsburgh Penguins. One noteworthy aspect of LeTang has been his health. Moreover, he’s never missed a lot of time, but he’s missed time lots throughout his career. In 18 career seasons, he has played 1087 regular season games. In addition, he’s been incredibly productive in this time. Back to 2010-11, he’s been 0.59 PPG or higher. Oh yeah, and one, two, three Stanley Cups.
Ludvig had 33 games played in his rookie season, adding five points. He had 11:48 TOI this season, so was eased into his NHL career development. The 23-year-old Czech native played his junior hockey with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks. Therefore, he really wants to come back healthy, and show he can stick in the NHL.
For Matt Nieto, he really wants to win a Stanley Cup, and why the Pens brought him in. He had four points in 22 games for the club in 2023-24. A strong season for Neito in a depth-role will be mutually beneficial for the Pens and the individual. His career-high is 27 points, back in 2014-15 as a member of the San Jose Sharks. Also, he did that through 72 games. He’s tough to play against, and definitely a playoff warrior. That’s why Sid might request such a transaction.
What Will All these Injuries Mean for Penguins
From a business perspective, injuries are favourable for the hockey operations side of things. What are we getting at? Look at Mark Stone going on long-term injury reserve down the Vegas Golden Knights springtime playoff drive. Therefore, it appears that the Penguins will be susceptible to in 2024-25. Fortunately, that is something POHO Kyle Dubas is all to familiar with how to handle. Or is he? Once Christmas roles around, all three the players we have discussed will be comfortably back into the lineup. However, it allows for extra cap space to be spent for training camp.
For the Penguins, their franchises dilemma, is how to they ensure playoff contention for the Hall-of-Famer, Sidney Crosby . LeTang, Evgeni Malkin , and Marc-Andre Fleury have all remarkable careers. Look at these career stats, one specific one for each, and double digit Stanley Cup Championships cumulatively. LeTang has 579 career assists. Moreover, Malkin has amassed six individual awards throughout his career. Finally, the great ‘goaltender’ Flower. His 561 career NHL regular season victories ranks him second all-time .
Main photo credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
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