George Sullivan, 81, died after receiving care at Cardigan Nursing Home in Scituate, Massachusetts.
"He was never short of an opinion about our team, but he was a huge Penguins fan," Sullivan said. "He loved the Penguins. I think it's difficult, you know? As I said to our players this morning, none of us get here alone. It takes a lot of support and people that love you along the way, that make sacrifices to help you achieve success. I'm no different."
In Sullivan's absence, assistant coach Jacques Martin ran the team.
"It feels good to be back and to get back into a routine," Sullivan said. "It was a little awkward. Obviously it's a unique circumstance, but I'm excited to get back on the ice with the team. I thought we had a great practice today. I'm looking forward to the next couple of games and seeing what we have."
Since being hired Dec. 12, 2015, Sullivan is 130-66-22 in three seasons with the Penguins. He helped them win the Stanley Cup in 2016 and 2017. Pittsburgh lost to the Washington Capitals in six games in the Eastern Conference Second Round of the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
"I obviously had a very good relationship with my father," Sullivan said. "I'm so grateful I got to experience the Stanley Cups with him. I think that was the thrill of his life. It was certainly the thrill of my life to be able to share it with him."
Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said he and his teammates were glad to have Sullivan return, and their goal was to make his first day back as seamless as possible.
"It's been a tough week for him," Crosby said. "We're happy to have him back and try to make things as easy as possible on him."
Evgeni Malkin shared Crosby's sentiments.
"It was a couple sad days for us for sure," he said. "We try to focus and be together and support our coach. He's an unbelievable guy. It's a tough time for him, but we're always here, we always support him."
