In 58 Days...

 
In 58 days the Penguins will begin their quest for the cup against the Anaheim Ducks, so naturally there's only one number 58 in Penguin hearts and minds and the only one to ever have worn the 58 sweater for the Penguins, Kris Letang. He was taken in the third round, 62nd overall by the Penguins in the 2005 draft and his flow has continued since that day. Letang is known for his puck-moving abilities, flow, and beating the living piss out of Kimmo Timonen during game three of the 2012 Eastern Conference Quarter Finals.

However, Kris Letang's 2013-2014 season was memorable yet forgettable at the same time. Letang's season was filled with injuries and setbacks including suffering a stroke just before the week of February 7th. Letang went on to miss ten weeks while recovering from the stroke. In addition, Letang battled an upper body injury in December, an elbow infection also in December and suffered a broken hand in game 7 against the New York Rangers in May. During the season, Letang was pulled from the top powerplay unit with Paul Martin replacing him, he was the subject of trade talks after having just signed an 8 year, $58 million dollar deal last offseason. Overall, Letang went on to record 22 points, with 11 goals and 11 assists in just 37 games played. Just overall a rough year IMO.

In 2013, Kris Letang was nominated for the Norris Trophy, which is given annually to the NHL's top "defense player who demonstrates throughout the season the greatest all-around ability in the position."  In that shortened season (Bettman sucks) Letang recorded 5 goals and 33 assists in just 35 games played. Letang was nominated along with Montreal's P.K. Subban and Minnesota's Ryan Suter with Subban winning the Norris. 

Other than having an absolute smoke for a wife and an adorable baby, we in Pittsburgh know what Kris Letang is capable of and what he has done in his eight years as a Penguin. His totals include 422 games played, 55 goals and 176 assists for a total of 231 points over those eight years. Most important of all, Letang is a career +34 (because +/- is the tell-all stat). Letang's accolades include a Stanley Cup (#BestInTheWorld) on the 2008-2009 Penguins team, voted an all-star for both the 2011 and 2012 NHL All-Star game, Norris Trophy finalist in 2013, and lastly he was named a Second Team All-Star in 2013.  

New season, new flow? Kris Letang's flowcut not only managed to jam up in the entire interwebz but also every Kris Letang fangirl out there. But in all seriousness, look for a new start from Letang as he should be healthy to begin the season, coming off such an injury-filled horrible season. Look for the guy that Kimmo Timonen checks his closet for every night before bed...

Stay tuned tomorrow to see who number 57 will be