Hornqvist, Other 8 Cleared To Rejoin Training Camp

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Monday, a week after their training camp opened, that the nine players who were being held out of practices have been cleared to rejoin the team.

The most prominent of those nine, the only regular, is winger Patric Hornqvist, the presumed third-line right winger.

The players apparently all had potential secondary contact related to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning they were in contact with someone who had contact with a person or persons who tested positive for the virus. It was considered to be a step taken out of an abundance of caution.

Those players are not expected to jump into Monday’s scrimmage. Also out for that event is center and captain Sidney Crosby, who apparently is dealing with a minor problem.

The Penguins also announced an adjustment to their schedule before they leave for Toronto on Sunday. They now will have four team scrimmages.

The first was Saturday, the second is Monday morning. The third will be Thursday at 7 p.m., the fourth Saturday at noon. All are designed to simulate game days, and the final two will be three full periods.

The scrimmages, and all of training camp, are closed to the public. The scrimmages can be viewed live at pittsburghpenguins.com, the Penguins app and on the team’s Facebook page.