Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wrote today about the future of players Kris Letang and Pascal Dupuis. Not to give away the whole story, but Letang is cleared to resume full workouts while Dupuis’ future remains unclear.

While it is great news to hear that Letang is recovering well from the concussion he sustained during Shane Doan’s questionable hit, news that Dupuis’ status is still up in the air is disheartening.

Here's the latest on Dupuis, Letang: http://t.co/UHZ7puDGFq

— Dave Molinari (@MolinariPG) June 1, 2015

“Super Duper,” now pushing the ripe old hockey age of 36, is recovering from blood clot issues. He has had a remarkable career for the Penguins, coming within a point of being a 60-point player back in 2011-12.

Not bad for a “throw in” player in the Marian Hossa deal.

One is left to wonder not only if Dupuis will be able to come back, but will he be able to resume the form he had before the medial issues?

History says yes, he will.

Comeback Kid

Dupuis was recovering from a lower-body when he returned at the beginning of last season. There was much talk from those who thought he would never be the same speedy player that he was before the injury, myself included.  Instead, Dupuis started out like a house on fire, scoring six goals and five assists in the 16 games he played.  Some of this has to do with playing on Sidney Crosby’s wing, but not all of it.

A “locker room” guy whose absence was felt on the ice much more than your average player, he was impressive speed-wise even after his leg injury.  Though he was yet another year older, it didn’t seem to show.  This is in stark contrast to his line-mate, Chris Kunitz, who looked every bit a 35-year-old player who simply could no longer do the things he once could.

I’m personally 35 years old, and I don’t need to be a professional athlete to know that knees ache more often and it takes longer to recover from any injury.  Still, it helps to be physically fit and receive the best medical care available.

As we are not medical doctors treating Dupuis, let’s not try to diagnose him ourselves.

“Certainly, by July 1, we need to have an idea of whether he’s going to be able to play, or play part of a season, or how that lays out, so we can do our planning for our team,” General Manager Jim Rutherford said.

While time may be ticking on Dupuis’ NHL career, I believe that after what amounts to a year off from hockey, he’ll have fresh legs upon his return.  He has proven in the past that he has the ability and the will.

This time will be no different.