PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Pens head coach Mike Sullivan praised Kris Letang for fighting through injuries to play the entire 2023-24 season. The veteran defenseman was one of three to undergo surgery recently. He is expected to be full go in mid-July.
Kris Letang
While it seems like there was more ailing him than just this, Letang had surgery to repair a fractured finger on his left hand on May 10. The 37-year-old played in 82 regular season games for only the second time in his career, 2010-11 is the other season, scoring 10 goals and 41 assists. He is expected to be full go in mid-July.
John Ludvig
The 23-year-old defenseman was out the last couple weeks of the season and had surgery to repair the extensor tendon in his left wrist on April 24. His expected recovery time is four to six months which means he may, or may not, be available for training camp and the start of the season. The rookie played in 33 games last year with five points (three goals) with 72 hits and 33 blocked shots.
Matt Nieto
Forward Matt Nieto's availability for the start of next season is more in doubt. The 31-year-old had reconstructive MCL surgery on his left knee on May 2 and is expected to be out six to seven months. Nieto has one year left on his two-year, $1.8 million contract. He played only 22 games, the last on November 30.
