Heartbreaking: Pittsburgh Penguins Star Kris Letang was involved in a ghastly car accident in the early hours of today at…

The Pittsburgh Penguins ended the speculation surrounding their No. 1 defenseman in the hours leading up to the NHL Draft, signing pending unrestricted free agent Kris Letang to a six-year extension Thursday afternoon.

Letang, 35, will earn a shade over $6 million each year in a $36.6 million agreement that will take him into his 40s.

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Suffice to say, the Letang camp did quite well.

For his part, Letang maximized his worth this past season, turning in one of the best of his 16 years with the organization. He finished with 10 goals and a career-high 68 points, while turning in some impressive underlying data in big minutes. He accumulated enough Norris Trophy consideration to finish seventh on the ballot.

What Letang may lack in natural shutdown ability he’s routinely made up for with elite puck-moving skills. It’s a skill that likely won’t drastically diminish.

There was some belief the Penguins, who have taken on new ownership, would step away from the partnership with older members of the existing core this offseason. In addition to Letang, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust were on expiring contracts. However, the Penguins have now retained Letang and Rust on six-year agreements, while leaving the door open for Malkin.

It seems unlikely that Malkin will sign long term, let alone for six seasons, but the Penguins are currently engaged in talks with the aging superstar, signalling that Ron Hextall and Brian Burke, and more importantly ownership, have put off a rebuild in the Sidney Crosby era.

Brokering long-term agreements represents a path forward for the Penguins, if aggressively pursuing the immediate term. It’s worth wondering how the final three seasons will look, or how they will be managed, when the time comes for Letang, but it won’t matter if he provides value over the first half of the agreement.

Columbus Blue Jackets officials could hardly believe their luck when they persuaded superstar Johnny Gaudreau to pass up larger markets and sign here two years ago.

Ecstatic fans looked to “Johnny Hockey” to score goals and jump-start the fortunes of a struggling team that had reached the playoffs just six times in the previous 21 seasons and advanced beyond the opening round only twice.

A few other big stars had spent time with the Blue Jackets, but for one reason or another they didn’t work out or didn’t care to hang around. Goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky and forward Artemi Panarin were beloved by fans and led Columbus to a playoff sweep of the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2019. But they couldn’t get out of town fast enough when their contracts expired

Gaudreau, one of the sport’s top players who spent his first eight years in the NHL with Calgary, certainly seemed different. He was excited to play for Columbus and be closer to his family in New Jersey, which for Blue Jackets fans makes his sudden death along with that of his brother Thursday night a shattering tragedy even harder to take. He was just 31.

“Johnny Gaudreau coming here, actually choosing Columbus was literally our validation. Like we are a hockey town, this is a hockey market. People want to play here. Johnny Gaudreau was literally the embodiment of that,” said Nick Shannon, who came to Nationwide Arena in Columbus on Friday to pay his respects.

Gaudreau and his younger brother died after they were struck by a suspected drunken driver while they were riding bicycles in Oldmans Township, close to their southern New Jersey hometown. Their sister’s wedding, scheduled for Friday, was called off.

“When he first signed, his famous words were, ‘It’s a great place to raise a family.’ And we were his family,” said Ninell Baker, a Blue Jackets season-ticket holder who also showed up at the downtown arena. “The players loved him. We all loved him. It breaks my heart. I don’t even know how to act.”

Fans who made their way to the front of the arena left behind flowers, caps, shirts and lots of hockey sticks. A bagpiper in a kilt and a Blue Jackets’ No. 13 Gaudreau sweater played as he walked up and down a sidewalk.

Gaudreau’s shocking death was the second off-ice tragedy in three years for a franchise struggling to get back on its feet. The organization was rocked when goaltender Matiss Kivlenieks was killed in a fireworks accident in July 2021 while attending the wedding of then-Blue Jackets goaltending coach Manny Legace’s daughter in Michigan. Kivlenieks was just 24.

Injuries, bad luck and mismanagement have knocked the Blue Jackets off track in the past few seasons, despite Gaudreau’s 74- and 60-point efforts in 2022-23 and 2023-24, respectively.

Coach John Tortorella led Columbus to the playoffs for four straight seasons but was fired after missing the postseason in 2021. A protege, Brad Larsen, lasted two seasons before he was let go.

The Blue Jackets made Mike Babcock the highest-paid coach in team history when he was hired in the summer of 2023. Babcock didn’t even make it to the season, fired just before training camp amid complaints that his requests to see photos on players’ phones were too invasive.

Pascal Vincent, who had been hired as an associate head coach, was elevated to the top job on the eve of training camp. Columbus finished last season as one of the worst teams in the NHL and out of the playoffs for the fourth straight season.

General manager Jarmo Kekalainen was fired in the middle of last season. Longtime NHL executive Don Waddell was hired as GM in May, and he fired Vincent in June. Waddell hired former Minnesota Wild coach Dean Evason to replace Vincent.

Now Evason will be without Gaudreau, who would have been his best player. He will also be without Patrik Laine, the talented forward acquired in a 2021 trade who the team hoped would complement Gaudreau on the top line.

The 26-year-old Laine played 18 games last season before entering the NHL Player Assistance Program last January. Telling Blue Jackets management he needed “a change of scenery,” Laine was traded to Montreal last month.

“We really don’t have a choice but to keep going,” Shannon said. “To be a Blue Jackets fan, or any sports fan in Ohio, you need to be resilient.”