PITTSBURGH — Kris Letang plays hockey with a grace and inexhaustible fluidity seemingly impervious to the rigors of spending nearly half his life in the NHL.
For the second time in less than a decade, however, a major health scare has brought Letang’s career to a halt.

Letang, 35, is out indefinitely after suffering a stroke for a second time. Letang reported feeling ill on Monday and was taken to the hospital, where tests confirmed the stroke.

While GM Ron Hextall said Wednesday this stroke doesn’t appear to be as serious as the one Letang sustained in 2014, the Penguins will have to find a way forward at least in the short term without one of their franchise pillars.

“I am fortunate to know my body well enough to recognize when something isn’t right,” Letang said in a release. “While it is difficult to navigate this issue publicly, I am hopeful it can raise awareness. … I am optimistic that I will be back on the ice soon.”

The three-time Stanley Cup champion missed more than two months in 2014 after a stroke, which doctors determined was caused by a small hole in the wall of his heart. He spent Monday feeling off and told team trainers he was dealing with what Hextall described as a migraine headache.

Penguins team physician Dr. Dhamesh Vyas recommended Letang go to the hospital, where tests confirmed the stroke.

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“He didn’t know (he had a stroke),” Hextall said. “He just knew something wasn’t right.”

Letang is continuing to undergo tests but felt well enough on Tuesday to be at the arena for Pittsburgh’s 3-2 overtime loss to Carolina. He spent the second period chatting with Hextall then addressed his teammates in the locker room afterward in an effort to help allay their concerns.

“I think it was important for Kris to be there because his teammates got to see him in good spirits and that he’s doing well,” Penguins Coach Mike Sullivan said.

Sullivan added initial test results on Letang have been “very encouraging.” Letang will continue to undergo testing throughout the week, though he felt good enough in the aftermath to ask Sullivan and Hextall if he could skate, an activity that is off the table for now.

Hextall said he “couldn’t even guess” how long the Penguins may be without the married father of two, adding hockey is low on the team’s list of concerns about a player who, along with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, has helped the franchise to three Stanley Cups during his 17-year career.

“First and foremost this is about the person and I told Tanger about that last night,” Hextall said. “This is Kris Letang, the father and family guy, the Pittsburgh Penguins, that’s second.”

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Letang, a six-time All-Star, has been one of the most durable players in the NHL. His 662 career points (145 goals, 517 assists) are a franchise record for a defenseman. He’s averaged well over 24 minutes of playing time over the course of his career, a number that’s ticked above 25 minutes per game seven times in eight-plus seasons since he returned from the initial stroke.

The Penguins felt so confident in Letang’s durability that they signed him to a six-year contract over the summer rather than let him test free agency for the first time.

“The level of hockey he’s played for as long as he’s played is absolutely incredible,” Hextall said. “The level he’s continued to play at at his age, the type of shape he’s in … he’s a warrior.”

Letang has one goal and 11 assists in 21 games this season for Pittsburgh, which hosts Vegas on Thursday night. The Penguins are pretty deep along the blue line, but Sullivan knows he can’t try to replace Letang with any one player.

“It’s not anything we haven’t been faced with in the past and the reality is we have what we have, and we’ll figure it out,” Sullivan said, adding “it’ll be by committee, as it usually is when you replace a player of that stature.”

COYOTES: The Tempe City Council has unanimously approved a proposal for a new Arizona Coyotes arena and entertainment district, clearing the way for a public vote on the project next year.

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The City Council approved the proposal 7-0 late Tuesday night after a lengthy meeting that included NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman.

The $2.1 billion project would include a 16,000-seat arena, practice rink, 1,600 apartments, two hotels and a theater. Approval of the project was the final step before it goes to referendum on May 16.

The team is currently playing at Arizona State’s 5,000-seat Mullett Arena, by far the NHL’s smallest arena.

The Coyotes have been searching for a permanent home since the city of Glendale pulled out of a multimillion-dollar lease at Gila River Arena. Arizona had been playing on an annual lease until Glendale said it would not be renewed for the 2022-23 season.

LIGHTNING: The Lightning had heard about the comments NESN’s Jack Edwards made during Tuesday’s broadcast making fun of veteran forward Pat Maroon’s weight, and after their 3-1 loss in Boston it didn’t sit well inside the Tampa Bay locker room.

Maroon jabbed back on Wednesday, taking a stand against bullying and body-shaming by posting on social media that he would donate $2,000 in Edwards’ name to Tampa Bay Thrives, a local nonprofit that helps those struggling with mental health and substance-abuse issues.

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Midway through the first period of Tuesday’s game, Edwards, a longtime Bruins broadcaster and former ESPN SportsCenter anchor not known to pull punches, singled out Maroon by commenting on his listed weight of 238 pounds.

“That was Day 1 of training camp,” Edwards said on air, chuckling throughout a 40-second sequence. ”I have the feeling he’s had a few more pizzas between then and now.”

“And that’s before pregame,” chimed in broadcast partner and color analyst Andy Brickley.

“Inadvertent fasting for Pat Maroon is like four hours without a meal,” Edwards later added before allowing, “but hey, three (Stanley) Cups in a row, who can argue with his formula?”

Maroon responded Wednesday afternoon via his personal Twitter and Instagram accounts.

“In support of those struggling with mental health, bullying and body image I am making a 2,000 donation in the name of @RealJackEdwards to @TampaBayThrives and I encourage @TBLightning and @NHL fans to join me.”

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Donations can be made at tampabaylightning.com/donate, Maroon posted.

Within an hour and a half, Maroon’s Twitter post had 20,000 retweets and his Instagram post drew 5,000 likes.

WEDNESDAY’S GAMES

MAPLE LEAFS 3, SHARKS 1: Pierre Engvall scored with 2:27 left in regulation, Mitch Marner had a goal to stretch his point streak to a franchise record-tying 18 games, and Toronto beat visiting  San Jose.

Auston Matthews also scored for Toronto, and Ilya Samsonov had 23 saves. The Maple Leafs improved to 8-0-2 over their last 10 games and 11-1-4 over the last 16.

Marner tied Darryl Sittler (1978-79) and Eddie Olcyzk (1989-90) for the team mark. The 25-year-old is the 23rd player in NHL history with a point streak of at least 18 games. He has seven goals and 17 assists during the streak.

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Matt Nieto scored for San Jose and Aaron Dell stopped 29 shots.

SABRES 5, RED WINGS 4: Jack Quinn scored the only goal in a shootout, Dylan Cozens had the second two-goal game of his career and Buffalo won at Detroit.

Mattias Samuelsson got his first career goal for the Sabres, who squandered a three-goal lead in the third period. Jeff Skinner supplied his sixth goal in five games on a power play, and Craig Anderson made 40 saves and collected an assist. Rasmus Dahlin added two assists.

Oskar Sundqvist scored twice during Detroit’s rally. Jonatan Berggren and David Perron also had goals for the Red Wings, and Alex Nedeljkovic stopped 30 shots.

RANGERS 3, SENATORS 1: Jimmy Vesey and Barclay Goodrow gave New York a two-goal lead midway through the second period, and the Rangers won at Ottawa.

Chris Kreider also scored and Ryan Lindgren had three assists to help the Rangers snap a three-game skid – including the last two in which they gave up multi-goal leads at home. Jaroslav Halak stopped 34 shots to get his first win win with New York after starting 0-5-1 this season.

Shane Pinto scored and Cam Talbot finished with 33 saves as Ottawa snapped a two-game win streak and lost for the fourth time in six games.


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