Sullivan speaks on the current situation, pickleball and more

During the season, Mike Sullivan talks to the media every day. And with his last availability occurring back on March 12, the Penguins head coach found himself actually looking forward to the video conference call the team set up on Tuesday.
"I'd never thought I'd say this, but I'm happy to be doing this today," Sullivan said with a smirk. "It's certainly been a while since our last media session."
He spoke for almost 30 minutes on a number of different topics. Here's a summary of what he had to say.

* The best part of the call came at the end, when Sullivan articulated the message that he feels should be delivered during this unique time.
"I just think the message is that this is certainly a difficult time for everyone," he said. "We all acknowledge that. What's jumped out at me is how impressive the human spirit and the human initiative is. When I look around the country and see how people band together to overcome challenges and work together to try to help one another through this crisis, for me it is inspiring. I think it's our responsibility as people within our own respective communities to make sure that we do our part in trying to help the country overcome this challenge and I don't think any of us should take it lightly. Those are the things I've thought about just over the last couple of weeks.
"If there's any silver lining in this, it's real impressive from my standpoint and quite honestly, it's inspiring to watch our country come together and overcome a crisis situation. I think the doctors, the nurses, the first responders, law enforcement and the fire department, the people that are on the front lines of this - those guys are our true heroes. We should be all be grateful for what they do on a daily basis. Sometimes we take that stuff for granted. For me those are the important takeaways of this. We will get through this and we will get through this together. And we'll all get on the other side of it. I hope we all gain an appreciation for one another and have a little bit more tolerance for one another when we do get on the other side of this."

* One phrase that Sullivan likes to use often is 'control the controllables.' It's a phrase that's extremely applicable to not only hockey, but life in general. And it's the approach he is taking when it comes to coaching and living in a situation like this given the uncertainty of everything.
"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 and self-quarantine and making sure that we help the world overcome this.
"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."
* Right now, the coaching staff has video meetings over WebEx a couple of times a week, just trying to think through all of the possible future scenarios and how to prepare for them. Moving forward, the coaching staff might also potentially use that technology with the players, who they are in constant communication with.
"I've talked to players personally and I know that our strength and conditioning guys are in almost daily contact with our players," Sullivan said. "They all have customized fitness programs based on where they're at and what resources they have at their disposal at this point to make sure that these guys stay fit as best they can for a potential return-to-play scenario. We're looking at every means possible and trying to be proactive in how we can try to stay engaged and make sure we continue to communicate with everyone involved."
One of those players is Sidney Crosby, whom Sullivan also talks with a couple of times a week. The Penguins head coach said he has gained a whole new level of appreciation for his captain's leadership during this time.
"He sets the standard for us with his work ethic and his example and just staying ready, and it's no different in this circumstance as well," Sullivan said. "I know how hard he's working right now to keep himself ready as best as he can and he certainly is talking to his teammates on a consistent basis to make sure our team is ready. He's the standard bearer for our group."
* When asked about the best way to balance what's fair and what's feasible for a potential return-to-play scenario, Sullivan said he has faith that the NHL will figure out the right scenario.
"They will do their best to try to find that balance of trying to finish the season as best they can and award the Stanley Cup, and at the same time be as fair and equitable as they possibly can," he said.
When asked what he thinks is a reasonable amount of time for the players to get back into game shape ahead of a potential return-to-play scenario, Sullivan said that was a difficult question to answer because of the uncertain time frame.
"But having said that, what I will say is that every team is in the same circumstance," he said. "We're all going to have the same time frame to try and prepare our teams to compete given the window of time that the league is going to allow for some sort of a mini training camp."
Depending on how long this goes, Sullivan said he could imagine the time frame being somewhere around two weeks - "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. Especially given the fact that when we do return to play, it's going to be a very high-stakes scenario."
* When Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford
did a conference call with the media last week
, he talked about the status of Jake Guentzel, who underwent successful shoulder surgery on Dec. 31 and was given a projected recovery timeline of 4-6 months.
Rutherford said taking the shorter end of that timeline would have him back around the end of April and the longer end of the timeline would have him back around the end of June, which means there's a possibility Guentzel could be back in time for the season depending on what happens. Sullivan echoed that optimism.
"When you think about the timeframe that was laid out after Jake's surgery, it's reasonable to think that we would get him back," Sullivan said. "We're excited about that potential opportunity. Jake is a difference-maker. He 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. It strengthens our top six and our bottom six."
* Sullivan is an avid reader, and has done a fair amount over this break so far - both to help him improve as a coach and a person as well as for fun.
"I've certainly tried to take this opportunity where we have some downtime to self-reflect and do some reading and maybe look across other endeavors or walks of life to see how we can improve or I can improve as a coach," he said. "I like to read. It's hard to do during the season because of the demands of our schedule and our workload as a coaching staff."
Speaking of fun, Sullivan has been enjoying quality time with his wife Kate and their kids, who have been teaching him how to play pickleball on a mobile court they put in the driveway.
"We've had a few competitive games of that, which has been a lot of fun," he said. "We've got a pool table at our house. We play pool sometimes at night with my son. We're doing things of that sort to try and stay busy and stay together and find some ways to have fun through the process. I'm certainly looking for ways to try to improve as a coach at the same time."
* The call ended just like it began, on a lighthearted note. Sullivan will always say who his starting goaltender is - as long as it's the day of the game. If any member of the media tries to ask before that, they'll be out of luck.
So, the final question of today's call was, "Have you made a decision on who's in net for the next game?" Sullivan laughed and said, "Everyone on the call will know what my answer is. The chances are I probably have made a decision. You guys will be informed, as you always are, on a game day."