Kris Letang is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey Leauge who plays as a defenceman and is the alternate captain. He is a two-time Stanley Cup winner with Penguins.
He has competed for Canada at the under-18 and under-20 levels. He won gold medals at the World Junior Championships in 2006/7 back to back.
Born in Montreal, Canada on April 24, 1987, Letang holds a Canadian nationality and is of white ethnicity.
Letang played for the Val-d’Or Foreurs in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Letang made his NHL debut in the 2006-07 season. He scored his first NHL goal in his third game against Henrik Lundqvist.
In his third game with the Val-d’Or, he led the Foreurs to the 2007 QMJHL Finals with 31 points but were swept by the Lewiston Maineiacs in four games.
He was assigned to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, under the affiliation of the Pittsburgh Penguins of American Hockey League (AHL), who played in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs.
At seasons end, he was the recipient of three major QMJHL awards, receiving the Emile Bouchard Trophy as the QMJHL’s best defenceman and Paul Dumont Trophy as the best personality. Letang also received the Kevin Lowe Trophy, as the defensive defenceman.
Letang was recalled in the AHL by Penguins after he recorded seven points in ten games at the beginning of 2007-08 seasons. He completed the season with 17 points in 63 games. Letang helped the Penguins to the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals making his Stanley Cup Playoffs debut.
He was put on top defensive pairing with Brooks Orpik replacing Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney. Letang was invited for his second NHL Youngstars Game during the 2009 All-Star weekend in his hometown of Montreal.
Letang scored his first career NHL playoff goal in game three of the second round against the Washington Capitals on May 6, 2009. They won the deciding game by 2-1 at the Joe Louis Arena which led them to win the Stanley Cup on June 12, 2009. He finished the postseason with 4 goals and 13 points over 23 games.
Letang recorded a career-low three goals to go with 24 assists the following season. He extended his contract for 4 years until the end of the 2013-14 reason on March 30, 2010 worth an annual salary of $3.5 million.
He was also voted in as a starter for the 2011 NHL All-Star Game in Raleigh, North Carolina. Letang finished his season as the second highest scorer for the Penguins. He made the NHL 2012 All-Star roster as a replacement for Dustin Byfuglien on January 23, 2012, joining teammates Evgeni Malkin and James Neal.
On July 2, 2013, Letang signed an eight-year contract worth $57 million with the Pittsburgh that went into effect in 2014-15.
Letang had to miss six weeks after suffering a stroke. In 2015-16, Letang was named to play for the Metropolitan Division team in the 2016 NHL All-Star Game. He became the fourth player in the NHL history to record a point on all four game-winning goals in the Stanley Cup Finals.
In the 2016-17 season, Letang faced neck surgery due to a herniated disk in his neck and did not play the playoff although his name was added to the Stanley Cup and he received a day with the cup.
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Letang debuted with Team Canada in his junior rookie season during the 2005 World U18 Championships in the Czech Republic. As part of a five-year Canadian championship run Letang competed in the World Junior Championships. Letang was named to the tournament All-Star Team, along with national teammates Carey Price and Jonathan Toews.
On may 29, 2008, Letang lost his closest friend Luc Bourdon who was a defensive prospect for the Vancouver Canucks. He and Bourdon had been teammates in junior with the Val-d’Or Foreurs and the Canadian junior team.
Letang is married to his long-time girlfriend, Catherine Laflamme. The two have a son together Alexander born on November 22, 2012, before their marriage. The couple wedded on July 18, 2015, in Montreal. They are expecting their second child known to be a girl to be born in early 2018.
The Canadian professional player currently has an annual salary of $7.25 million. His 8-year contract will earn him $58 million in total. Previously he was under a 4-year contract worth $14,000,000 with the annual salary of $3.5 million.
His current net worth is estimated to be $16 million.
He is often seen riding a Range Rover and believed to have more in his collection.
