Penguins’ Kris Letang out day-to-day

The Pittsburgh Penguins were missing a veteran defenseman at practice on Tuesday as Kris Letang didn’t hit the ice. After the session, the team announced that he is sidelined day-to-day with an upper-body injury.

The 38-year-old blueliner has not missed any game time for the Penguins recently, having played 21:58 of ice time in the Penguins’ 6-3 win over the Seattle Kraken on Monday night. However, he likely sustained the knock during the game.

This season, Letang has three goals and 22 assists through 48 games, as the Penguins have remained competitive in the twilight of his and Sidney Crosby’s illustrious careers. Meanwhile, his injury is a blow to the defense, as fellow veteran Erik Karlsson is currently on injured reserve with a lower-body injury.

While the Penguins may not be the force of old, they have enjoyed a competitive campaign so far. As has become commonplace in the last two decades, Crosby leads the team in points with 26 goals and 55 points, while Bryan Rust, Anthony Mantha, Justin Brazeau and Connor Dewar have all crested the 10-goal mark as well.

Letang’s injury news wasn’t the only note for the Penguins on Tuesday, as they also announced that they had acquired defenseman Ilya Solovyov from the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for forward Valtteri Puustinen and a 2026 seventh-round draft pick.

Solovyov has one goal and three points in 16 games with the Avalanche this season. He has also appeared in three AHL games with the Colorado Eagles and is a pending RFA with an average annual value of $775,000.

Letang’s status will be questionable heading into the Penguins’ next game on Wednesday night against the Calgary Flames, as they look to move up from third in the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division with eight games before the league halts for the Milano-Cortina 2026 Olympics.