Penguins place Kris Letang on Injured Reserve

In order to trim their roster to 23 players, the Pittsburgh Penguins placed defenseman Kris Letang on injured reserve this afternoon.

On Saturday, Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma said that their star defenseman would miss the rest of the preseason with a lower-body injury. This afternoon he was placed on IR with what is believed to be a knee injury. Being placed on injured reserve means that Letang can not play in an NHL game for seven days. His placement on IR will likely be retroactive to Friday September 27th, which would mean Letang will only miss the Pens season opener on Thursday. Monitor his status going forward, hopefully for his owners he will be available for Saturday’s meeting with Buffalo.

The Penguins also placed goaltender Tomas Vokoun on IR this afternoon. Vokoun underwent surgery to dissolve a blood clot in his pelvis on September 21st. The netminder was released from hospital four days later and has been given the OK to resume light workouts. Marc-Andre Fleury is the number one in Pittsburgh, but after struggling in the postseason for the second year in a row, his leash should be short this season. If the 37-year-old Vokoun heals quickly, he could have a ton of fantasy value if Fleury stumbles again.