Kris Letang is a Canadian-born professional skater and hockey player who plies his trade in the National Hockey League. A bonafide veteran, Letang plays in the defensive position of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team he has spent his entire career with. He has won three Stanley Cup championships and been named for three NHL All-Star Games since joining the Penguins in 2005.
Kris Letang’ Biography, Age
Kristopher Allen Letang was born on April 24, 1987, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. He spent three seasons with the Val-d’Or Foreurs junior ice hockey team of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He recorded 32 points in his junior rookie season (2004-2005) and was named to the QMJHL and Canadian Hockey League rookie single teams. In the summer of 2005, he was selected 62nd overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 3rd round of the 2005 NHL Entry Draft.
Letang recorded 68 points in 60 games during the 2005-06 QMJHL season for which he was selected to the QMJHL First All-Star Team. He made his NHL debut with the Penguins in the 2006-07 season. However, after scoring only 2 goals in 7 games, he was reassigned to the Val-d’Or Foreurs to improve.
He led the Foreurs to the final of the 2007 QMJHL playoffs recording 31 points in the postseason. His performance for the season earned him the Emile Bouchard Trophy, as the league’s best defenseman, the Paul Dumont Trophy as “Personality of the Year” as well as the Kevin Lowe Trophy, as the best defensive defenseman in the league. the QMJHL.
Kris Letang started the 2007-2008 season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, the American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate team of the Pittsburgh Penguins. After recording 7 points in his first 10 appearances of the season, the talented player was recalled to the NHL by Pittsburgh.
As a rookie in the 2006-07 season, Letanga had 17 points in 63 appearances, 6th among rookie defensemen and for which he was named an NHL Young Star Game in 2008. He also had an impressive run in the 2008 Stanley Cup Playoffs, helping the Penguins reach the Finals. However, they were beaten 4-2 by the Detroit Red Wings.
During the 2008-09 NHL season, Letang gained more playing time as 2 of the team’s top defensemen were ruled out due to injury. As a result, his performance for the season jumped to 10 goals and 33 points and he was invited to the 2009 NHL Youth Game. He was also instrumental in the Penguins’ success in the post-season, in which they eventually defeated the defending champions Detroit Wings in the Finals to win the 2009 Stanley Cup. He had 4 goals and 13 points in 23 appearances in the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The 2009-10 NHL season was rather unfavorable for the NHL star as his performance dropped to 3 career goals and 24 assists. He had a bigger role in the 2010–11 season after top defenseman Sergei Gonchar exited in the summer of 2010. He finished the season with 50 points (8 goals and 42 assists), the highest score in his career. voted for the 2011 NHL All-Star Game. The following year, the talented player was also named to the 2012 NHL All-Star Game replacing the injured Dustin Byfuglien.
Kris Letang has remained the best defenseman in Since then, the Pittsburgh Penguins have been injured for several seasons. The veteran defenseman had the best performance of his long career during the 2015-16 NHL season, finishing with a career-high 67 points in 71 appearances for which he was named to the NHL All-Star Game 2016.
Letang scored the game-winning goalThe Penguins’ win over the San Jose Sharks in the 2016 Stanley Cup Finals earned the 2nd league title of his career and 4th in franchise history. He underwent neck surgery at the end of the 2016-17 season, following which he missed out on the Penguins’ successful title defense in the 2017 Stanley Cup Finals. could participate in the victory because his name was also added to the trophy.
Family life, wife and son
Kris Letang is currently married to CatherineLaflamme. The couple got married on July 18, 2015 in Montreal, Canada. In 2017, Laflamme participated in Season 3 of the Canadian documentary television series Wives Of Hockey. Letang and his wife have two children together. They welcomed their first child, a son named Alexander, on November 23, 2012. Their second child was born on July 5, 2018, to a daughter named Victoria.
Height and other facts
Kris Letang is 6 feet (183 cm) tall and he maintains a body weight of 91 kg (201 lb). The veteran defenseman is renowned for his efficiency at both ends of the ice as he also displays impressive offensive abilities.
Letang played for the Canadian national ice youth hockey team. He won silver with Team Canada at the 2005 IIHF U18 World Championships. He also won gold with Canada’s under-20 teams at the 2006 and 2007 IIHF World Junior Championships.