Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel tested positive for COVID-19 and entered protocol, the team confirmed Sunday morning. The Athletic’s Rob Rossi reports that due to protocol measures, Guentzel will be available for Pittsburgh’s season opener on Oct. 12 against Tampa Bay so long as he doesn’t have more than two failed tests moving forward.
If for some reason Guentzel can’t go against the Lightning, the Penguins will open the season without their three best forwards. Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin will remain out well into the season with their respective injuries.
Due to that, Guentzel will be relied upon heavily in Pittsburgh once he’s ready to go again. His ice time will undoubtedly stay above the 20-minute mark for the third straight season as the soon-to-be 27-year-old will take the reins as Pittsburgh’s best offensive talent until Crosby and Malkin are at full health.
Guentzel enters 2021-22 aiming for his fifth consecutive 20-goal season, as well as his third straight season above a point-per-game pace. Injuries and the pandemic have limited him to just 95 games over the past two seasons, but the Omaha-born forward’s still managed 43 goals and 100 points in that time frame.
Pittsburgh will face an uphill battle early on in an airtight Metropolitan Division without its top two Hall-of-Fame centers. If the team (and Guentzel) can’t cover for the absences by committee, the Pens risk missing the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 2006.
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