Kris Letang approaching the NHL covid-19 break as if it’s the Penguins offseason

It’s been five weeks since the Penguins played a game or even were on ice. Their most recent game was a victory in Newark, N.J., on March 10; they practiced at Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio, the next day.

Since, all players — via edict from both NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and from government officials — have been confined to their homes. While some might have better workout equipment than others, all are limited in what they can do to stay in shape, and virtually no one has access to ice.

“There’s not much you can do,” Letang said.

Letang said Tuesday that he typically might take a week off away from the ice after a given season ends. Usually he keeps his legs engaged by skating “once or twice a week” after that in a usual offseason.

This current “offseason” for Letang and the rest of the NHL is anything but usual, and it’s officially not even an offseason at all. Yet.

The league’s powerbrokers continue to express optimism the 2019-20 season can be completed. Edmonton Oilers chairman Bob Nicholson, for example, told the AP on Tuesday: “We are really determined to finalize this season. I’m not sure when that will be. It could be July or August.

“(Bettman) has a number of different formulas for us to play in that time period … and also starting next season in November.”

Kris Letang did not hesitate (and might surprise) when asked who was the Penguins’ bigger rival - the Flyers or Capitals pic.twitter.com/FGrg3ao6Dg

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) April 14, 2020

Like everything else being done out of covid-19 concerns, making projections about when hockey could resume is futile at this point. Letang demurred on offering his personal opinion, citing the myriad variables.

But he speculated that if the NHL is given an all-clear that some preseason games would be interspersed into a condensed mini-training camp in order for players to re-acclimate themselves to the pace of NHL hockey.

“It might take, I would say, three weeks of playing and practicing to get back the speed,” Letang said. “It’s going to be hard, but at least you won’t see differences between teams because everybody is in the same boat.”

Letang was speaking about the physical challenges facing all NHL players amidst this unprecedented situation. But he also could have been referring to the mental and emotional toll this layoff is surely having on some players.

As Letang said Tuesday, “Everybody knows that hockey is what I love to do.

“It’s tough. But at the end of the day, there is more than (hockey). The health of people is so much more important. So it actually puts everything in perspective, and I kind of block out the will for playing hockey right now and just try to worry about what people are actually going through and what the real difficulties are.”

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