Mike Sullivan doesn't know when the NHL will come out of suspended animation.
Heck, he -- like pretty much everyone else -- doesn't even know if that will happen in time to save the 2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, let alone a slice of the regular season.
But he does seem reasonably confident that if hockey returns this spring, Jake Guentzel will make it into the Penguins' lineup.
When Guentzel underwent shoulder surgery after being being injured against Ottawa Dec. 30, the prognosis was that he would be sidelined 4-6 months.
The optimistic end of that projection now lines up nicely with the latest federal extension of social-distancing and stay-at-home guidelines, which run through the end of April.
And while Sullivan can't guarantee that Guentzel will be ready to return if hockey does in about a month, it was clear during a conference call with reporters Tuesday that he's contemplated the possibility.
And likes it.
A lot.
"We would be thrilled to have him," Sullivan said. "Jake's a difference-maker. The opportunity to get him back in our lineup, I think, makes us a more competitive hockey team. It gives us more balance.
"It gives us the opportunity to spread some of our talent throughout our lineup. I think it makes us a whole lot more difficult to play against. I think it makes our top-six stronger. I think it strengthens our bottom-six, by (virtue) of having a little bit more depth.
"With the timeframe that was laid out after Jake's surgery, it's feasible to think that we would get him back. We're excited about that potential opportunity. Knowing Jake the way we know him, he's a real competitive kid. We know what this means to him. He loves to compete and he's a tough kid."
Sullivan acknowledged that Guentzel will have to get acclimated to the pace and intensity of play, regardless of when he comes back, but added that, "we think that adjustment will make come quick."
The Penguins got an infusion of talent from their injured-reserve list not long before the league shut down March 12, as defensemen Brian Dumoulin and John Marino played in the final five games after recovering from ankle and facial surgery, respectively.
"Those two guys are important," Sullivan said. "We're a much better hockey team when they're in our lineup."
The Penguins had five forwards -- Dominik Simon, Zach Aston-Reese, Nick Bjugstad, Anthony Angello and Guentzel -- sidelined when the NHL season was suspended. It's not clear how many of them would be cleared to play if team activities would be allowed to resume in a month or so, although Aston-Reese took part in a practice March 11 in Columbus.
Because of injuries, Sullivan has had his lineup of choice intact for only part of one game this season, but he said, "We believe we have depth when we're healthy."
Sullivan said he has been in "constant communication" with Jim Rutherford, his assistant coaches and the players since the league shut down, but said that seriously preparing for a possible resumption of play isn't practical at this point.
"There's really no timeline at this point," he said. "It's hard, because of the lack of clarity, to do any sort of preparation for a return-to-play scenario."
He did, however, suggest that teams will need more than just a few days to prepare for any games that would be played this spring or summer.
"Depending how long this goes, it would be somewhere in the timeframe of two weeks, I would think, to give guys an opportunity to get back skating again, to get back involved with physical play and body contact and things of that nature that are required to play at the intensity level that is demanded of you in the NHL," Sullivan said. "Especially given the fact that when we do return, it's going to be a very high-stakes scenario."
Until permission to continue the season comes, Sullivan said, players and coaches simply will try to cope with the same challenges the rest of society is facing during the coronavirus pandemic.
"We can't control the circumstance surrounding the world right now," he said. "We're going to do our part -- both off the ice and as part of our communities -- to take responsibility in self-quarantining and making sure we help the world overcome this virus. And we're also going to do what we can to keep ourselves ready and try to gain a competitive advantage by controlling the controllables here through a difficult circumstance."
He also seems to be optimistic about how things ultimately will play out, at least in a non-hockey sense.
"We will get through this," he said. "We'll get through this together. And we'll all get on the other side of it."
