Penguins forward Jake Guentzel gets a second chance to finish his season

On the afternoon of Dec. 30, Jake Guentzel was selected to his first All-Star Game.

Later that same evening, his season came to an immediate halt.

Before the calendar turned to 2020, Guentzel was in the midst of a career season. Having largely carried the team’s offense despite so many injuries among its forward ranks, including to franchise centers Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, he appeared sure bet to reach the 40-goal mark for the second consecutive season and stood a chance to become the first player other than Malkin or Crosby to lead the team in scoring since defenseman Dick Tarnstrom paced the woebegone 2003-04 edition of the Penguins.

Then, in the immediate aftermath of scoring his 20th goal of the campaign, everything came crashing down, literally.

During the late stages of a 5-2 home win against the Ottawa Senators, Guentzel cleaned up a loose puck in the crease, sweeping a backhander into a vacant cage. Before he could even consider a celebration, Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot’s left skate collided with Guentzel’s skate, sending Guentzel violently into the end boards with force.

Guentzel’s body contorted in a gruesome fashion with his right shoulder absorbing most of the collision.

A few hours later, he underwent surgery to repair that shoulder and his season was all but over (or so it was assumed).

“Lots of ups and downs that day,” Guentzel said. “First All-Star Game, I mean that’s a pretty cool experience. I still remember calling my parents. They couldn’t believe it to be honest with you. Felt pretty excited during the day. You work hard to get to that moment. You look up to the superstars in the league. Pretty exciting. But definitely a big change in events there.

“I didn’t really know much at the time on what happened or the severity of it. But once you look back on it and kind of see the video, I’m pretty lucky more things didn’t happen. It could have been a lot worse. Just kind of a scary situation, obviously accidental. Kind of a broken play and two guys hit skates. Just happened to be that close to the boards. I’m glad my neck got out of the way and head got out of the way. Not good, but I was pretty lucky that it was just a shoulder.”

Six months later, Guentzel appears set to have a chance to complete his season. With the NHL on hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic since mid-March, the 2019-20 campaign could potentially resume later this summer with a 24-team postseason tournament.

Guentzel took a step towards being a participant in that tournament on Tuesday when he was among a limited group of Penguins who voluntarily skated at the team’s facility in Cranberry as part of Phase 2 in the league’s plan to resume play.

During a video conference call with local reporters on Wednesday, he described himself as “day to day,” a popular idiom for injured hockey players which has become increasingly universal for every walk of life post-coronavirus.

“It’s nice to be back with guys and seeing each other,” Guentzel said. “It’s so long that we’ve seen each other and been on the ice, not knowing what’s going to happen. Just (happy) for us to be back on the rink and be able to skate with some guys. It’s been nice. Obviously, guys want to play hockey. We’re all really excited to get going.”

One of the exceedingly few benefits from the shutdown was that it afforded Guentzel time to fully rehab his damaged shoulder. The time frame initially offered for recovery was four to six months. Had the NHL not been paused, Guentzel could have theoretically been able to return as soon as the first round of the playoffs or as late as a Stanley Cup Final.

“I can take the positive out of this,” Guentzel said. “Not sure what would have happened if the season would have played out. I can take these two to three months and use them to my advantage. If I can get rehabbed and feeling good, that would be nice to get back to playing.”

Beyond the obvious physical concerns of Guentzel’s injury, there lie some possible mental ramifications. As a player who routinely goes to the net to find offense despite his modest dimensions (5-foot-11, 180 pounds), he admits a lack of confidence in the shoulder could be an obstacle.

“Just kind of have to see,” Guentzel said. “Can’t really think about that yet. I haven’t been in a situation like that since the injury. It might be there. I don’t know. It’s hard to think about right now. It’s hard to process if that will come to my mind during a game. Hopefully not. But you just never know what’s going to happen until it happens.”

Few people, including Guentzel figured he would have a chance to complete his season when he initially left the lineup in chilly December. Now, during the heat of June, he’s preparing to resume play and potentially win another Stanley Cup title.

“You’re working in the weight room. You’re working on the ice,” he said. “Guys have every different thing that they want to work on to make sure they’re ready to go. That’s the biggest thing is that we’re all trying to get ready for this training camp and this playoff run.”

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