"Obviously, he means a lot to our team. He's part of this family. I think for him to be back around the group was a great feeling for everybody," head coach Mike Sullivan said.
Letang last played on Dec. 28 versus Detroit, having missed Pittsburgh's matchup with New Jersey on Dec. 30 with a lower-body injury.
He traveled with the Penguins to Boston on New Year's Eve, and Sullivan announced during his pregame media availability on Jan. 2 that Fouquet had passed away after the team had arrived, so Kris had returned to Montreal to be with his family.
Following that three-game, 10-day road trip that had continued in Vegas and Arizona, instead of flying home to Pittsburgh, the Penguins went to Quebec to support Letang at the funeral on Jan. 9.
Sidney Crosby had talked to the Penguins leadership group about being there for Letang before approaching Sullivan, who then spoke to general manager Ron Hextall, with Fenway Sports Group ultimately giving their full support.
"We all know how much his dad loved (the Penguins), and stuff like that," Marcus Pettersson said. "Kris texted us and said it means a lot for his entire family. I think it meant a lot for us, too, to show him that we support him and we care. That was a great initiative by Sid and those guys who talked to the coaching staff."
Today marked Letang's first day on the ice after nearly three weeks. He had an individual session with assistant coach Ty Hennes that lasted about 30 minutes before spending about 20 minutes with his teammates at their optional practice, wearing a white no-contact jersey.
"That was planned," Sullivan said. "Obviously, he hasn't skated in a while… so we want to make sure we put him in a position to be successful."
That means Letang will not play when the Penguins face the Senators in Ottawa on Wednesday, with Sullivan categorizing him as day-to-day.
"We're looking forward to him joining us during a game. We're hopeful that's sooner than later," Sullivan said.
Letang's fellow blueliner Jeff Petry, who has missed the last 15 games with an upper-body injury, upgraded to full contact after wearing a no-contact jersey during his first practice back at Monday's morning skate. So did forward Ryan Poehling, who has missed 10 of the last 11 with a nagging upper-body injury.
In addition, goaltender Tristan Jarry joined the group for the first time since suffering a lower-body injury in the first period of Pittsburgh's 2-1 loss to the Bruins at Fenway Park, saying he feels great.
"I think it's good to be able to manage that and be able to come back 100%. I think playing anything less than that, I don't think benefits the team. It definitely is something that you want to go out and be 100%, because it's a tough league and you want to win every night."
There's currently no timetable for his return, but Jarry, Petry, Poehling and Josh Archibald - who has missed the last 12 games with a lower-body injury and practiced in a no-contact fashion - all went to Ottawa with the team.
"These guys are getting close. We're encouraged with the progress that they've made," Sullivan said. "They will travel on the trip with us, and then we'll make decisions accordingly."
