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20 Penguins Thoughts: Teammates' concern for Patric Hornqvist is real

January 15, 2019 8:17 AMBy Jason Mackey / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It’s a text message that Kris Letang doesn’t want to send.

Not because he doesn’t care — he does.

More how he knows it’ll be received.

But like many Penguins who’ve experienced multiple concussions, Letang knows exactly what Patric Hornqvist, who’s had five of them since December 2014, is going through. And Letang, while he cares an awful lot, doesn’t want to be burdensome.

“I’ve been through that,” Letang said. “The last thing I wanted was everybody texting me. That’s why I try to leave him alone. If you’re too [in his face], he might feel like he has to come back quicker. He might not make a good decision.”

Injuries in contact sports are inevitable. Even ones to your brain.

“It’s part of our sport,” Letang said. “We know what we signed up for.”

But with yet another one happening to Hornqvist, something has become clear when discussing the situation with his teammates: This isn’t the same as someone recovering from a knee injury or even his first or second concussion; Penguins players are genuinely concerned about Hornqvist’s head.

“When it’s a good friend and someone we all love and is important to us, you worry about it,” Matt Cullen said. “The positive is we have some pretty good people in place as far as taking your time off and allowing things to heal up and doing the best you can to control those things. Aside from that, we all just hope he’s alright.”

2. Hornqvist, who was concussed last Tuesday against the Panthers, has been skating on his own back in Pittsburgh, which is obviously a good sign.

While the Penguins look forward to getting Hornqvist back, they also don’t want him to rush anything, for fear that he comes back too soon and jeopardizes his long-term health.

“You have to be careful,” Sidney Crosby said. “He has to make sure he’s ready when he comes back.

“He’s been smart about it, though. Especially the way he plays and how tough he plays, he has to make sure he’s feeling good.”

There’s a pretty good reason Hornqvist should take this slow, too.

Actually a couple of them.

“He’s got a family and kids (daughters Isabella and Vendela),” Cullen said. “That’s the first thing that you worry about for him. … Our thoughts are all with him, that’s for sure.”

Mostly, the Penguins just want Hornqvist to be able to be himself again.

“He’s a heart-and-soul guy,” Cullen said. “He’s one of the most important guys in this room as far as keeping the team on the right track. He just brings so much life and energy to our group. He’s one of those guys that makes it really fun for all of us. It’s a lot different when he’s not here.”

3. The other thing area of concern — and this is probably more outside of the Penguins dressing room than inside of it — is Hornqvist’s style of play.

The same rough-and-tumble style that has made Hornqvist so good at what he does — enough for 20 or more goals in every full season he’s played and a $5.3-million-a-year contract through 2023 — is the same one that doesn’t age well.

When Hornqvist does come back, it’s easy to say that he should change. For his own health and career, sure, but also for his family. But can he? Crosby thinks that will be tough.

“You can’t adjust to a puck in the face,” Crosby said, referencing what caused Hornqvist’s latest concussion. “What are you going to do? He had one off his head in warmup. They’re fluke things.”

Which, again, is why Crosby doesn’t think Hornqvist can or will change his game whenever he does get back.

“He only knows one way to play,” Crosby said. “That’s the way he plays the game. Sometimes those things can happen. The way he competes and the way he plays, I don’t see him changing that.”

4. Hornqvist has said repeatedly that he’s not going to change his game, often reasoning that he can’t or he’ll be out of the league.

It sounds harsh, but Letang understands where Hornqvist is coming from.

The Penguins asked Letang to change his game last season — OK, tweak — to take fewer dangerous hits, but it wound up being one of the things that contributed to an off-year for him in 2017-18.

“You can’t really change your game, honestly,” Letang said. “Certain players have played their whole life like that. That’s why they have those contracts and why they’ve had so much success. If you change that, you might become ineffective.”

5. I hope Hornqvist can do something. For his health and for his family.

Staying objective as a reporter is one thing, but you root for everybody — player or not — to avoid serious brain injuries.

As Cullen said on concussions, “There’s still so much we don’t know.” He’s right. But we do know this: They’re scary. Especially when they occur with the frequency that they have with Hornqvist.

“I feel for him,” Matt Murray said. “It’s a tough situation. It’s not an injury that’s fun to deal with, obviously. I can’t speak to how he’s feeling or anything like that. I just wish him all the best, like the rest of us here. Personally, not anything to do with hockey, you wish that he’s feeling good.”

6. The NHL and NHLPA met recently to discuss the current CBA, which runs through 2022, although the league and players have the option to terminate it this September (to be made effective Sept. 15, 2020).

From the league’s perspective, commissioner Gary Bettman would seemingly like to hold another World Cup of Hockey in 2020, and that could play a part in whether or not there’s labor peace through 2020 and beyond.

While Crosby said he didn’t want to comment specifically on negotiations “because it can change so many times,” he said he would be in favor of another World Cup. Crosby also would love to play in the 2022 Beijing Games.

“I’m good with both,” Crosby said. “I’ve had good experiences in both. I don’t know about the timing of it and how it fits in with everything. They did a great job in Toronto [in 2016]. Definitely the two Olympics I’ve been involved with, I thought they were awesome. We’ll see what happens.”

7. Crosby said much must still be determined with how the event would be structured — he brought up the possibility of another Team Europe and the under-23 squad as variables — in addition to the length of time it would require out of players.

But Crosby did really enjoy the last World Cup, held in Toronto in 2016, and would be all for doing it again. Maybe both, if the NHL and NHLPA could swing it.

“I think it was a big thing,” Crosby said. “We’ll have to see how it works out. I don’t know if it’s going to be the same format or how that’s going to shake out. The length of time, too, and when they do it. It’s something they have to figure out. I think they’re both [meaning the Olympics, too] are pretty good events.”

8. My two cents: I think the NHL is more in favor of the World Cup, while the players would probably rather go to the Olympics. They see the latter as a bigger stage, and they’re probably right.

Bettman has said before he worries about the disruption to the NHL season, but with the 2022 Games being in Beijing, that’s a major business opportunity for the league.

Would it be the worst thing if they did both? As long as the players would be on board, I don’t see an issue. I think it could be a lot of fun.

9. With Washington’s Alex Ovechkin set to pass Sergei Fedorov in career points by a Russian-born player — he’s six away after Monday’s game — I thought it would be a good time to ask Malkin about hockey in his home country and sort of the state of the Russian player.

Malkin said he’s “proud” of what some of his countrymen have been able to do, name-checking Ovechkin (on pace for an eighth season of 50 or more goals) and Tampa Bay forward Nikita Kucherov (NHL-best 75 points in 46 games).

There’s also other highly skilled players in Artemi Panarin, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Vladimir Tarasenko, plus some solid defensemen (Ivan Provorov and Dmitry Orlov spring to mind) and a pair of Vezina Trophy winners/finalists in Sergei Bobrovsky and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

“Russia loves hockey, first of all,” Malkin said. “When the national team plays, everyone watches on TV. Russia has always had so many good players — Fedorov, [Igor] Larionov. Lots of huge names.”

10. Malkin also lobbied for Russian players to come to the NHL and stay, believing it’s the best league in the world.

“If you have a chance, you need to come to NHL and try,” Malkin said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re 20 years old or 25. Just try. It’s No. 1, for sure. Every best player plays here, for sure.

“If you [want] to be better and you want a challenge against the best players, you be here. Be better every day, play against good teams. Of course I’m proud of Ovechkin and Kucherov are doing right now.”

11. I dug into some recent numbers of current Russian NHL players, and it’s roughly the same this season as it has been for the past couple years. Maybe a tad better.

Thirty-eight Russian-born players have played at least one game in the NHL this season. That number was 39 in 2017-18 and 42 and 41 in the two years before that.

Last year actually saw Russian players produce more offense than they have in quite some time, with those 39 players combining to score 428 goals and register 1,048 points.

This season, Russian-born skaters should meet or exceed those numbers. Russian players currently have 204 goals and 586 points a handful of games past the halfway point of the NHL season.

12. In talking to Malkin, I realized that I had ever asked him who he idolized while growing up in Magnitogorsk.

He cited watching Detroit and the Russian Five in the late 1990s — Fedorov, Larionov, Slava Fetisov, Vyacheslav Kozlov and Vladimir Konstantinov.

“I don’t know. It’s a hard question,” Malkin said with a smile. “I watched Detroit, Russian Five. You always hear, ‘Russian Five, Russian Five.’

“My style is more [like] Fedorov. Best player so far. He plays center. He plays wing. He can do everything. He’s a really, really smart guy and a smart player.”

13. Ever wonder why they call Marcus Pettersson “Dragon?”

Yes, seriously, that’s his nickname dating back to his time in Anaheim.

On Friday, before Pettersson played his first game at Honda Center since being traded to Pittsburgh, I asked him where the nickname came from.

Turns out it originated in Sweden. Pettersson had a high school basketball coach that called him and another kid “Dragons.” For no apparent reason, either.

Then one day in Anaheim, and perhaps because he’s tall and lanky, someone asked Pettersson if he ever played hoops.

Pettersson has always been kind of so-so on the sport but relayed the story from his home country.

“I just told the story as a joke, and they thought it was hilarious,” Pettersson said.

14. Turns out Derek Grant, a teammate of Pettersson’s in Anaheim who was there for the original story, retold it in Pittsburgh, and the nickname has remerged.

“I didn’t think it would stick,” Pettersson said. “Somehow it did.”

15. I talked to goaltending coach Mike Buckley about a few things in Anaheim, most notably what has helped Matt Murray get right again after returning from injury.

He brought up the team’s overall play and the emergence of Casey DeSmith as reasons why — the latter because he’s been able to shoulder some of the load and also the competitive environment it has helped create with Murray.

One of the things that outsiders have brought up relative to Murray is how he’s been taller in his net. Buckley said no tactical adjustment has been made, though he does think it may be at least a little bit true.

“He’s more confident,” Buckley said, smiling and standing up straight.

16. Another thing Buckley should get credit for this season is the emergence of DeSmith.

Both are New Hampshire guys and, like Murray, have a pretty good history together.

The biggest thing that has led to DeSmith’s breakout year, Buckley said, is how much better he’s been able to read the game. It’s similar to what has made Murray so successful.

“That’s where he’s made the biggest jump,” Buckley said. “He’s always been a pretty good play-reader and has anticipated well. But to catch up with how quickly it happens at this level, that was a big jump for him. I think he’s really adapted well with that.”

17. I also asked Buckley how the Penguins plan to manage the dynamic of Murray and DeSmith and what that might mean for each guy if both are playing as well as they have recently.

“I think it’s one game at a time,” Buckley said. “I think that healthy competition … keep that going right up until playoffs.”

If DeSmith can get this out of Murray simply by playing well, I think it makes his new extension — worth $1.25 million per season — even more of a bargain.

18. I don’t think it will take until Feb. 10 for Justin Schultz to come back.

That would be his original target date given the four-month timeline we were originally given, but the fact that he skated in full equipment for the first time last Friday likely bodes well for him joining the team soon.

The only complicating factor here is that, after this road trip, the Penguins have another week off because of their bye week and the All-Star Game.

Hard to imagine Schultz not being back with the team out of the break, if not before.

19. What will Jim Rutherford do at the trade deadline? Let’s use some deductive reasoning.

I have a tough time seeing Rutherford letting this deadline pass and not combining a good young goalie (Tristan Jarry) and a defenseman (they have nine) and doing something to help the NHL club. Rutherford is in win-now mode. He has a terrific opportunity to improve his team.

What needs to be better? Easy: third-line center. Their wings are fine. Defense has been good, too, and it’s about to get much better. They’re set at goalie, and they have three fourth-line centers.

It’s literally the only piece of this team that’s incomplete. I just don’t see how Rutherford can look at Tampa, Toronto and Washington and think the Penguins are getting enough from that position.

20. San Jose is my absolutely favorite road city. We get asked this question a lot — where do you like to go on the road? Well, here. And north of here.

Heaven for me came Wednesday. As soon as I landed in San Jose, I hopped onto a train bound for San Francisco and eventually wound up at Haight-Ashbury, the Grateful Dead/hippie Mecca.

Spent the afternoon and evening walking around and listening to music, doing some shopping and had dinner at Magnolia Brewery … just an amazing time.

If you’re a fan of the Dead’s music, or just a different-looking scene, I can’t recommend the Haight enough. And San Francisco, in general. What an awesome place.

Jason Mackey: [email protected] and Twitter @JMackeyPG.

First Published January 15, 2019 8:00 AM

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