Sidney Crosby along with Penguins attend Kris Letang’s father’s funeral despite gruesome schedule, NHL Twitter reacts

The Pittsburg Penguins family bond snatched the spotlight this week as the whole team went the extra mile to be present during Kris Letang’s father’s funeral. It’s been an extremely tough year for the defenceman, as he had to go through both physical and mental challenges.

Not only Letang experienced his second stroke in the past year, but also got the news of his father Claude Fouquet’s passing away. Letang got back on his feet within a week and a half, but couldn’t possibly hold any longer when news from his family came. 

Though he wasn’t allowed to participate in the 2023 NHL Winter Classic at Fenway Park due to an injury, he left the team and flew back to Montreal, and has yet to make his on-ice appearance. According to The Athletics Josh Yohe, the team’s leadership group came together to make the side trip to Montreal, Canada.

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After handling the gruesome 10-day road trip and the upcoming Tuesday’s game, the Penguins squad including Mike Sullivan approached the organization to plead for making arrangements on their trip to Canada. For them, their attendance and being there for Kris Letang was far more important than any NHL game.

Their heart-warming gesture also shows how important Letang is to the team. Not to mention Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Letang have been called the trio of the Penguins. Having their support during such tough times will at least help soothe Letang a little bit in times of crisis. 

The Penguins’ sudden plan change was helped by the organization. Without them, they wouldn’t have been able to make the trip to Canada. According to Yohe, a Penguins front office person came all the way to Phoenix to hand the players and the coach their passports.

Letang who spent all his 17 NHL years with the Penguins has been undoubtedly been lifted by them on several occasions. In this recent cause, not only the teammates but also the NHL community has expressed their deep regard for the player and his family. 

As Yohe noted, “…they traveled through the middle of the night to Montreal, arriving at 4 a.m. Then, they slept for a brief period of time before attending the funeral of Claude Fouquet, father of Kris Letang.”

“While the Penguins were on the Western swing of the road trip that took them through Las Vegas and Phoenix, some of the team’s veterans came together with the coaching staff to discuss a mutual desire to attend Fouquet’s funeral in Quebec.”

“Mike Sullivan was not only on board with the plan but was one of the people who spearheaded the decision. The Penguins were then set to return home later today, where they won’t have much time to prepare for Tuesday’s game.”

“But then, for this group, taking care of teammates is more important than obtaining a certain amount of rest before a game. This is a particularly vivid illustration of how much Letang means to everyone on this team.”

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