CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Jake Guentzel underwent successful shoulder surgery on Tuesday morning, Jim Rutherford announced.
Guentzel is expected to be sidelined for four to six months, potentially making the injury season-ending.
“It’s tough,” Mike Sullivan said of the loss after Tuesday's practice. “I think his play speaks for itself. He’s been one of our more consistent players here for a long time. He’s a tough kid. He’s had a great start to the season, he’s quietly become one of the elite players in the league. I know his teammates, the coaching staff, management team all appreciate what he brings to this team. He’s not an easy guy to replace.”
The surgery was performed by team physician Dr. Dharmesh Vyas and Dr. Ivan Tarkin of UPMC Orthopaedic Trauma Surgery.
Guentzel sustained the injury in Monday night's win over the Senators, crashing into the boards after he tripped over Thomas Chabot after scoring his 20th goal of the season and 200th career NHL point:
"It sucks," Jared McCann said. "He's obviously a big part of our team. It's tough seeing a guy like that go down, because he's done so much for us. But we've done a good job this year of guys stepping up and stepping in."
"It sucks," Bryan Rust said. "It's a big blow to this team. He was our All-Star this year. It's something that we've been doing all year, trying to pick up the slack by committee. ... With a guy like Jake who is so effective, it's tough. He goes to the net so well, he's got such good offensive instincts and scores a lot of goals, but he's also good at both ends of the ice. That will be hard to replace. ... Things were going well for him. He's having an unbelievable year, the catalyst behind our offense. Through everything, he was the one steady presence through the injuries and everything. That's why he was our All-Star. To have so many good things happen then have the exclamation point be the injury, it sucks."
Rust added that he thought the play was a "fluke," and that he thought Guentzel's skate and Chabot's skate just happened to collide.
"It sucks to say, but I think we're getting used to it," Rust said of the latest in a long line of injuries. "These things happen in sports, it's a fast, high-paced contact sport. Things are going to happen. It was a good thing it wasn't any worse for Jake."
Sidney Crosby, who skated with the team in a lighter practice on Tuesday, offered praise for Guentzel's play during his absence.
"To see him playing as well as he has been and then taking his game to another level, you just want to see your teammates succeed," Crosby said of Guentzel. "A guy like that who just found every way to contribute, to see that happen is just unlucky. He's as tough as they come and I'm sure that they'll make sure he's back as soon as possible."
