Penguins’ Kris Letang practiced social distancing long before most were
Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf did not start issuing orders related to coronavirus-abating measures until mid-March.
Kris Letang was practicing social distancing and other covid-19 prevention tactics two weeks before that, when the Pittsburgh Penguins were on their annual California swing through Los Angeles, Anaheim and San Jose.
“We’d been following it for it a little bit at my house, so I think I was a little bit aware that it was going to hit hard in the U.S.,” Letang said during a video call with media Tuesday.
“Especially when we were on the West Coast, it was already something that I was trying to be aware of. I was washing my hands. I was trying to stay a little bit (apart) from people the best I could.”
The tipping point for Letang much like what it was for much of the rest of the country: the night after the Penguins practiced at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, on March 11, the NBA suspended its season after the Utah Jazz’s Rudy Gobert tested positive for covid-19.
“I knew then that it was going to eventually hit us,” Letang said.
Since the Penguins returned to Pittsburgh on March 12, players have been instructed to remain in their homes. Letang misses the sport he loves, and he surely longs for a return to societal normalcy, too. But he still is able to see some silver linings in being isolated in his home with his wife, Catherine, 7-year-old son Alex and toddler daughter Victoria.
Letang said a typical day involves a family breakfast, homeschooling of Alex and some early-life education for Victoria, too. Alex will force Kris into games of floor mini-hockey and sometimes even join his father’s workout sessions.
“I don’t have the chance to be at home a lot with my kids and wife (during a season), with all the time I am gone on the road or the days we have a game at home when I am not there much,” Letang said, “so it’s just nice to be with my family, having a chance to be with them full time.”
"That’s the way I like to see it – this is my summer break right now. I tried to build my body to make sure when I come back I am fully rested."https://t.co/hHnImTF3ll
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) April 14, 2020
Alex made himself seen during Tuesday’s 15-minute video call. But Alex isn’t the only hockey player Kris interacts with these days. He said the teammate he keeps in touch with the most is captain Sidney Crosby, who reaches out about every other day.
Letang doesn’t know when he’ll get to see Crosby and the other Penguins in person again, and he mused about the feeling he’ll have when he gets another chance to again step onto the ice.
“I know we all miss hockey, and it’s a tough situation for everybody,” Letang said. “But this virus and this situation is more important than hockey, so I pray for everybody to be safe and healthy.”
Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.
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