Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Kris Letang’s season is over. The 19-year veteran will miss Pittsburgh’s finale against Washington on Thursday night after undergoing a procedure to close a small hole in his heart.

The Penguins made the announcement on Wednesday. Letang did not participate in the team’s practice on Tuesday for what coach Mike Sullivan called a medical appointment.

Letang has missed time earlier in his career due to strokes related to a hole in his heart.

The team said the expected timeline for Letang to make a full recovery is 4-6 weeks. Pittsburgh was eliminated from postseason contention earlier this month.

Letang, who is signed through the 2027-28 season, had nine goals and 21 assists in 74 games for Pittsburgh this year, his lowest point total over a full season since 2009-10.

Minor league baseball

Saints allow franchise record 8 homers

The St. Paul Saints hit four home runs but allowed a franchise-record eight homers in a 20-6 loss on the road at Iowa on Wednesday.

Carson McCusker had two of St. Paul’s homers with Jeferson Morales and Armando Alvarez hitting the others. But Andrew Morris (0-1) started for the Saints and gave up seven runs in 3 2/3 innings. He only gave up one homer.

After Alex Speas struck out the lone batter he faced in relief of Morris, Cory Lewis and infielder Anthony Prato finished the game. Lewis allowed four in 2 2/3 innings and Prato surrendered three in 1 1/3 innings.

— Staff report

NBA

Pelicans tap Dumars to lead basketball ops

The New Orleans Pelicans have hired Joe Dumars — a former NBA champion as both a player and an executive with the Detroit Pistons — as their executive vice president of basketball operations.

Dumars, 61, takes over for David Griffin, who was fired on Monday after a six-year stint.

Dumars grew up in Natchitoches, Louisiana, and played college basketball for McNeese State in Lake Charles, Louisiana.

He comes to the Pelicans after three years in the NBA office, serving as an executive vice president and helping to oversee, among other things, player discipline.

NFL

Giants open to playing Hunter on both sides

The New York Giants are open to allowing Colorado standout Travis Hunter to play on both sides of the ball if they wind up using the third overall pick in next week’s NFL draft on the Heisman Award-winning cornerback and wide receiver.

Giants general manager Joe Schoen said during the team’s pre-draft news conference that it “would not be afraid to play him on both sides of the ball.” Hunter has made it clear he intends to play both offense and defense in the NFL, telling CBS Sports recently that his response to any team trying to limit him would be “never playing football again.”

BRIEFLY

fishing >> Two boats collided during a fishing tournament Wednesday in Alabama, killing three people, officials said. The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, which is investigating the crash, said a bass fishing boat struck a center console-type vessel. Three people aboard the vessel were killed.

softball >> Former Major League Baseball executive Kim Ng has been named commissioner of the Athletes Unlimited Softball League.

NBA >> Duke’s Kon Knueppel is heading to the NBA after one college season.

NFL >> The NFL’s Washington Commanders and the District of Columbia are in discussions about a new football stadium in the nation’s capital, a person with knowledge of talks told the Associated Press.

NFL >> San Francisco 49ers practice squad offensive lineman Isaac Alarcon was suspended six games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

— From news services