PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – Finishing off a road trip with a game that ended around 9:30p EST on Sunday, the Pens thoughts were not about finally heading home. They had to be there for one of their own.
It was Sidney Crosby, and the leadership group, that initiated a conversation with the coaches and then Mike Sullivan said the Fenway Group was 100% behind a destination change. The team wanted to be there for Kris Letang's father's wake and flew overnight from Phoenix to Montreal to support Kris on Monday.
"I think it was huge for us and for him," said Pens defenseman Marcus Pettersson. "We all know how much his dad loved us. We talked to him yesterday and he said it means a lot for his entire family. I think it meant a lot for us too to show him that we support him and that we care. It was a great initiative."
"Even traveling overnight, I don't think any of us blinked for one second to be there and show support."
"He's been a mentor for a lot of young guys," said Pens defenseman PO Joseph. "He's been in this organization for a long time. It was the least we can do was to be there for everything he's done for us and everything he's still doing for us. I think it was a no-brainer for us and we are all happy to be there for him."
"What's he's meant to this City," said Pens forward Jake Guentzel. "What he's meant to our team. Just an unbelievable guy, if we could be there for him. I think that was an easy choice for all of us. Just to be there for him, support him was nice."
It's more than just a group of elite players looking to win games and a championship. It starts sometime in early summer for these guys working out together, then training camp starts in September and they are together nearly every day until Spring and some years until June. Sports teams become families, especially one with a smaller roster like hockey.
"To go there and show support it really brings us together," Pettersson said. "It's a tough time for him and his family to go through and just know that he's not alone in this and his family is not alone in this."
"We are a family in here. We wanted to show that. It's been a tough stretch. He knows we are fully behind him."
"When something like that happens, I don't think there is anything that can lift you up," Joseph said. "Little things like that I think it definitely makes a difference. As much as possible that we can be there for him, I think it will help him along the way. It's an everyday thing that we be there for him especially in tough moments."
