Health must be Letang’s top priority

Ithought of Pascal Dupuis immediately after news broke on Wednesday that Kris Letang had another stroke. I remember the sad day in December 2015 when Dupuis announced his retirement from the NHL because of reoccurring issues with blood clots. I still can see the tears in his eyes and hear the heartbreak in his voice when he talked about it.

“My wife and four children have always been my first priority, and playing with my condition has become a constant worry for all of us,” Dupuis said. “If all this was on me or if I was taking a selfish approach, I would probably still be playing.”

I can’t help but wonder if Letang will have to make the same decision that Dupuis did.

One stroke is bad enough. Letang was 26 when he had his first in January 2014. He

missed two months before rejoining the Penguins.

But two at such a young age?

Letang is 35 now. Like Dupuis, he has a wife and young children. Certainly, you have seen the video of his adorable son, Alex, who turned 10 on Nov. 22, telling the world in July after his dad signed a sixyear, $36.6 million extension with the Penguins, “My whole family wanted to go to another spot.”

Kids say the darnedest things, right?

I can’t get that image of Alex out of my mind since I heard the news about Letang.

Isn’t the possibility of a third stroke a legitimate worry?

Isn’t it fair to wonder if playing a professional sport as arduous as hockey could be a contributing factor?

If I’m Letang, I’m doing a lot of thinking about my future, as I’m sure he will. I know he loves his sport, as much as any athlete I’ve known. But he also is set for life financially. He has a lot of living to do after hockey.

Fortunately, Letang has the best doctors in the world to advise him. People come here from all over the world because of our docs and hospitals. If you get sick, be glad you are in Pittsburgh. Your care will be extraordinary.

The Penguins and Letang put the best possible spin on his situation. Ron Hextall said this stroke wasn’t as serious as the first and that is not believed to be career-threatening. “Thus far, everything is looking as positive as it could be,” Hextall said.

Letang complained of a migraine on Monday and quickly alerted the team’s medical personnel. They sent him right to the hospital. That’s when his stroke was diagnosed.

There is an important lesson there for all of us:

If you have a medical issue, don’t ignore it and hope that it goes away. Get examined. Get treatment, if necessary. Be safe, not sorry.

Letang missed the game Tuesday night against Carolina but showed up in the dressing room afterward when Mike Sullivan broke the news to the team. “It was important for Kris to be there because his teammates got to see him in good spirits and that he’s doing well,” Sullivan said.

Good spirits?

That doesn’t even begin to describe Letang’s attitude.

“I am optimistic that I will be back on the ice soon,” he said via the Penguins.

I know Letang will do everything possible for that to happen. There is no betterconditioned athlete in Pittsburgh. He trains maniacally.

It’s nice to think Letang will make it back to the Penguins this season and continue his Hall of Fame-caliber career. He was not having his best start this year, but he still is invaluable to the team in so many ways. He plays more minutes than anyone, important minutes in every situation.

The Penguins were going to have a hard time making the playoffs for the 17th consecutive season with Letang. I don’t think they will make it without him.

But that hardly matters. Letang’s family is all that is important here. His wife, Victoria, and his two beautiful kids, Alex and his younger sister, Victoria, 4.

Retiring was the right decision for Dupuis, painful as it was for him professionally.

Retiring may or may not be the right decision for Letang.

I know this:

I wouldn’t want to have to make that call.