Penguins Far From Silent During Break

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Announced during the 2015-16 season, the new “bye week” time is upon us. This is when, between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28, each team takes a break for a week to relax, recuperate or vacation. The Pittsburgh Penguins are in the middle of their bye week, but a select few aren’t out of the public eye.

What’s Up, Nick Bonino?

Nick Bonino must be enjoying his time away from the rink. He’d have to be in a pretty good mood to offer up two free tickets to this Saturday’s game against Tampa Bay, as he recently did via twitter:

Kudos to the fan who correctly guessed Savannah, GA!

How About You, Kris Letang?

How does Kris Letang spend his time away from the Pens’ blue line during the first week of the new year? Why, look no further than the World Junior Championship! Letang was featured at the World Juniors, allowing fans to pose with him for pictures, signing autographs and even escorting the new Good Deeds Cup around the rink in the back of a Silverado!

And Some Close to Home…

While Bonino and Letang are away from Pittsburgh and no doubt serving noble causes (well, Letang certainly is) a couple of familiar rear guards have recently revealed via Twitter that they’ll be doing a promotional appearance next month at a local memorabilia and merchandise shop. Let’s see if any of that on-ice chemistry carries over into real-life when Justin Schultz and Ian Cole team up again in February to sign autographs for fans.

And finally, since pseudo-enforcer Steve Oleksy can’t engage opponents in any sort of on-ice riff-raff, he’s tying up loose ends from the holidays. If you ask me, despite the burn, his buddy got off easy:

With only a few days left in their bye week, players are likely wrapping up their brief holiday. They’ll soon return to a routine of endless preparation, whether that be taping sticks, sharpening skates or dealing with Matt Cullen’s overwhelming supply of “practice gloves.”And with expectations as high as ever, there are more than just a few players and fans looking forward to the return of Penguins hockey.