Guentzel, back on ice, speaks to race issue

Jake Guentzel's recovery from shoulder surgery has been one of the dominant topics of conversation around the Penguins for the past few months.

But before speaking with reporters on a conference call Wednesday, Guentzel, whose off-season residence is in Minnesota, expressed some pointed opinions about an even more timely and pressing concern: The civil unrest throughout the country in recent weeks, and the racism-based issues that spawned it.

The trigger, of course, was the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police officers in late May.

"These last couple of months have been pretty crazy," Guentzel said. "Especially these last couple of weeks have been pretty tough. Watching the death of George Floyd was pretty disturbing. For me, personally, it was even more disheartening, knowing that it was pretty close to home for me. I just want to say that my heart aches with that, and everyone involved. I'm ashamed that racism still exists to this day. My eyes have definitely been opened, and I'm definitely committed to educating myself and making a difference out there."

Guentzel, who has not played since injuring his right shoulder Dec. 30, returned to this area for the start of small-group skating sessions at the UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry Tuesday.

His teammates and club officials have spoken optimistically of the chances of him returning when NHL games resume, probably in August, and while Guentzel didn't say unequivocally that he expects to be in the lineup then, that certainly was the impression he gave.

"I'm getting better every day," he said. "Just sticking to the (rehabilitation) protocol and what I have to do ... If we start playing again, hopefully, i'll be ready by then. We'll see."

Guentzel was hurt when he fell awkwardly into the boards after colliding with Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot a second or so after scoring his 20th goal of the season.

"I didn't really know much at the time about what happened, or the severity of it," he said. "But once you look back on it, see the video, I'm pretty lucky that more things didn't happen. It could have been a lot worse."

Perhaps, but it was bad enough. The initial prognosis was for Guentzel to be sidelined 4-6 months, which meant the best-case scenario was for him to return for the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs -- if the Penguins lasted that long.

But because the league suspended play March 12 due to the coronavirus pandemic, Guentzel has had extra time to heal and rehabilitate his shoulder, and said he actually had been on the ice for "a few weeks" before returning here.

"I can take the positive out of this," he said. "I'm not sure what would have happened if the season had played out. I can take these two to three months (during the shutdown) and use them to my advantage."

Guentzel was hurt just hours after learning that he had been selected to play in the NHL All-Star Game for the first time.

"A lot of ups and downs that day," he said. "First All-Star Game, that's a pretty cool experience. I still remember calling my parents and they couldn't believe it, to be honest with you. ... Pretty exciting, but definitely, a big change of events there. First time (with) a major injury for me. Looking back, it was definitely a whirlwind kind of a day."

Guentzel scored 20 goals in 39 games, so his confidence level was stratospheric when he was hurt. Whether he'll have the confidence in his surgically rebuilt shoulder needed to get his game back there is impossible to predict.

"I'm committed to working hard and strengthening the shoulder as much as I can," he said. "I'm trying to get back to pretty much pre-injury, as much as I can. There's always that doubt. You never know what's going to happen with an injury."

Or, for that matter, with the makeup of forward combinations.

When Guentzel was injured, Sidney Crosby was recovering from surgery to repair  sports hernia and Conor Sheary was playing for Buffalo.

But it's quite possible that when the league's return-to-play plan reaches Phase 3, which calls for formal training camps, Mike Sullivan will reunite those three, who had formed a productive unit before Sheary was traded to the Sabres.

If that happens, Guentzel won't object.

"We had a lot of fun playing together," he said. "I've thought about it. It would be an awesome experience. We really feed off each other. We know each other's games."

They probably know each other's feelings about major societal issues, too, but Guentzel, like most hockey players, rarely has taken a strong public position on those. Now, however, his voice is just one of many heard from around the league since the death of Floyd.

"It's nice to see that when people have platforms, they're using it to speak out," Guentzel said. "Obviously, we know that (racism) needs to end. ... It's all been pretty tough times. Hopefully, we can all stick together."