Kris Letang to have neck surgery, done for the season

Pittsburgh Penguins v New York Rangers

Welp.

I guess the reason for all the delay was they thought he may be able to play through this? Seems unlikely but who knows, Letang probably thought it was possible. At this point, you just hope it all turns out okay for a guy who is growing accustomed to bad news with injuries. Stroke, concussions, now neck surgery. Have to wonder what kind of toll these last few years have taken on Letang, and that’s before we get into all of the other minor setbacks he’s had.

For the Pens, well, this one stings. There’s a reason teams don’t repeat in the cap era and this is a good example. Takes a lot of luck and good health — two things that aren’t mutually exclusive — to win it all, and the Pens haven’t really had either this season.

Who knows, they’ve made a pretty good run without Letang in the lineup, but I’m pretty sure just about everyone can agree the road to repeat just got a lot harder.

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