“I won’t be practicing the full (session).  I don’t think I’m ready for the physical stuff – the one-on-ones and things like that – but just getting back into the timing of passing the puck at this speed and those types of things. It’s to start passing to guys, shooting the puck and getting flow. You have to get your timing back down. When you’re out there by yourself there’s no timing.”

Ryan Whitney
PittsburghPenguins.com

Good to know the Penguins don't plan to rush Whitney back to the ice. 

That article on the Penguins site does bring up a good point that maybe we, as couch GMs and fans, dismiss: shots off the skate hurt.  That puck?  It hurts.  And while we can easily wince from home, or perhaps even recall from personal history a moment when we took a disc off the foot, it doesn't have the same kind of impact for us as it would for someone who does it their entire career.

While Whitney can put weight on his foot, skate around with the team and make progress towards rehab, those are the little intricacies that the Penguins will look to avoid as he makes his way back to the roster full time. 

You may recall last season when the team sat through Gary Roberts' rehabilitation from a broken leg.  Every week the team released, "day-to-day" and every week that was quickly replaced by "doubtful."  Obviously it's a different kind of recovery for a guy like Whitney, who at 25 runs a better chance of recouping quicker than the broke-down body of a 40+ veteran.  Not an insult there, just basic principle.

Take this as good news, regardless as to how much longer we have to wait.  It's not like he is taking longer than the team had planned.  It's just that when the team makes the first mention of one of your big power-play guys taking to the ice, no matter the significance, you can't help but hope his return is a swift one.