Penguins forward Jake Guentzel is on the move.
Carolina announced less than 24 hours before Friday’s NHL trade deadline that Pittsburgh has traded the left winger to the Hurricanes.
The deal will send the forward to Carolina along with defenseman Ty Smith.
Pittsburgh will retain 25% of Guentzel’s salary as part of the trade.
In exchange, the Penguins will receive two conditional draft picks in the 2024 NHL Draft, including winger Michael Bunting, prospects Vir Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev, Cruz Lucius, and a first-round selection. It turns out.
“Jake is an elite goal scorer and playmaker who has performed at a high level throughout his NHL career,” Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said in a statement. “Ty is a young, offensive-minded defenseman who will provide us with another reliable option on the blue line. We are excited to strengthen our lineup as we work to bring back the Stanley Cup to Lowry.”
The deal was a natural fit for Guentzel, who is in the final year of a five-year, $30 million contract he signed with the Penguins in 2018.
Guentzel was a mainstay alongside Sidney Crosby for most of his career, but the Pens’ poor performance this season made parting ways with the Pens a necessary evil.
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas and Guentzel’s camp have not had serious discussions about a contract extension. The Athletic reported.
“The decision to trade Jake Guentzel, whose contract is expiring this offseason, was one of the most difficult decisions I’ve ever had to make as a manager. In my first season with the Penguins, It has become abundantly clear why Jake means so much to his teammates, the entire Penguins staff, and the city of Pittsburgh,” Dubas said in a statement after the trade.
Although the Hurricanes have not traditionally been a big-spending team at the trade deadline, they managed to beat out several other teams that were trying to acquire the Pittsburgh forward.
According to The Athletic, the Canucks, Rangers and Golden Knights have been linked to Guentzel in recent days, and the newspaper also reports that president of ice hockey operations Jim Rutherford has a past relationship with the Penguins. It was reported that the Canucks were attracting a lot of attention because of their
Guentzel is a top-line talent who led the Penguins in playoff goals during their 2017 Stanley Cup appearance and scored 40 goals during the 2018-19 regular season.
He has scored at least 20 goals in seven of the eight seasons he has played in the NHL, with 22 goals and 30 assists so far this year.
