Transcript of Letang interview with the media today at practice 1-17-12

On what he’s gone through:
It’s honestly been a rough time not doing anything and sitting at home watching my teammates play. It’s kind of boring, but I saw some doctors, saw some people that helped me a lot and got back on track and start practicing.

On the symptoms he had:
Dizziness, nausea, headaches. My entourage said I was irritable, but I think it was more from the fact that I was not playing hockey.

On his understanding of concussions:
It’s a frustrating injury. You can’t do really do anything about it except rest and try to learn from other players that went through it. It’s a big thing. Our game is faster and guys are stronger. So we need to be a little bit more aware on the ice and guys need to be more careful out there.

On feeling better:
It feels great just to be back on the ice. And today, the first time with my teammates, it felt really good.

On returning this week:
Obviously we don’t want to rush it. I had a lot of discussions with the GM and the coaches. We’re going to make a decision when I’m going to be ready. Obviously I didn’t have the chance to practice a lot with my teammates. Tonight might be too soon, but we’ll see how the week goes.

On if he’d like to get in before the All-Star break:
I want to play as quick as I can play. Obviously the sooner the better. I want to get ready for this week.

On if he felt like a kid out there today:
Honestly, I’ve been up since 7. Usually I wake up around 8 or 9. I was really excited to go to the rink today and have the chance to practice with the guys.

On if he talked to Sidney Crosby during his recovery:
We spend a lot of time together. We’re watching games together. We talked about it, but like every concussion, it’s different for everybody. We were just talking about who he’s got as a reference to go see and who I saw for my concussion. We had small chats.

On if he saw Ted Carrick:
No. I saw somebody back home for a week. I brought him here for another week later just to make sure I’m ready for this week.

On if he went through setbacks:
It’s really tough. With my concussion, I went through a month with a lot of symptoms and not being able to get out of bed. It was rough times. But as I was getting better and starting to get treated by differentpeople, it just went better and better. When I got symptom-free, that’s the first time I tried to exercise.

On if he worries about hesitation:
No, I don’t think so. Obviously I want to be careful, but my game is to go all out. I’m physical, I’m up in the play. I’m trying to bring a different aspect to the game. I was expecting to think about what was going to happen when I got back, so I really worked on the mental side of the game and making sure that when I step in, I’m not afraid to get hit.

On returning to play in Montreal:
You can ask our trainer Chris Stewart, I’m somebody kind of rough with injuries. I don’t really pay attention to (them). But the first thing I noticed was my nose was not in place, so we took care of that. After that, it was just a question of being able to function. I was pretty pumped to get back out there. I was excited. The adrenaline was still pumping in my veins. I didn’t feel anything that night. It was the day after when I woke up in the morning that I didn’t feel that great. I saw some doctors and it was the day in New York I started throwing up.