The Pittsburgh Penguins got some good news this morning, as star winger Jake Guentzel was on the ice today at Penguins practice, sporting a non-contact jersey. Guentzel has been recovering from offseason ankle surgery.
While he’s presumably not fully ready for game action, Guentzel’s return is a crucially important development for the Penguins’ competitive hopes in a cutthroat Metropolitan Division. He’s the team’s best winger, and has scored 76 goals and 157 points in 154 games over the last two seasons. Getting him back up to full speed and into their lineup would do wonders for the Penguins’ top six and the chances of success for their entire offensive attack.
Some other injury updates from across the NHL:
- The Toronto Maple Leafs announced that blueliner John Klingberg will not practice today due to an upper-body injury, and is considered out on a day-to-day basis. Although this injury isn’t at this moment expected to keep Klingberg out of commission for any extended time, an injury at this point in the training camp and preseason could impact Klingberg’s ability to build early chemistry with his new teammates. The 31-year-old six-time 40-plus point defenseman played for two teams last season and is looking for a bounce-back year in Toronto.
- Columbus Blue Jackets team reporter Jeff Svoboda wrote on X that forward Mathieu Olivier hit the ice today at Blue Jackets practice for the first time this training camp, having been held out to that point by a leg injury. Olivier, 26, has two years and $1.1MM AAV remaining on his current contract, and is fighting for a depth role on head coach Pascal Vincent’s opening-night roster. The former Nashville Predator scored five goals and 15 points last season to go alongside 81 penalty minutes.