Canes Make Trade Deadline Splashes Don Waddell and the Carolina Hurricanes have finally done it. Not only did they trade for a premium rental, they traded for THE premium rental on the market this year. The Canes have acquired star winger Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins (25% retained) and defenseman Ty Smith in exchange for Michael Bunting, a conditional first-round pick, a conditional fifth-round pick and forward prospects Vasily Ponomarev, Ville Koivunen, and Cruz Lucius. “Jake is an elite goal scorer and playmaker who has produced at a high level for his entire NHL career,” said general manager Don Waddell in a press release. “Ty is a young, offensive-minded defenseman who will provide us with another reliable option on the blue line. We’re thrilled to bolster our lineup as we compete to bring the Stanley Cup back to Raleigh.” Guentzel is a high-end offensive player who has 22 goals and 52 points this season. He's a seven-time 20-goal scorer, has had two 40-goal seasons and is a proven playoff producer with 34 goals in 58 postseason games. While he doesn't provide much for defense, the Canes needed a goal scorer and Guentzel is all that and more. A lot has been made about the Canes' unwillingness to make these types of trades in the past, but this move proves the Hurricanes are serious about truly pushing for a Stanley Cup this year. The addition of Guentzel immediately upgrades the forward group with a proven playoff performer who can help push them further than the Eastern Conference Final. And perhaps Guentzel won't be just a rental if they can work out a deal to keep him in Raleigh a bit longer. At 25% retention, Guentzel has the same cap hit as Bunting, meaning Carolina still has cap space to make another deal. Going the other way, Bunting, 28, had 13 goals and 36 points for Carolina in 60 games this season. He was finding chemistry on the second line with Jack Drury and Martin Necas and was working well on PP1 in the high slot. The former Toronto Maple Leaf had signed a three-year, $4.5 million AAV contract this offseason, so it's a bit surprising to see him go the other way this quickly into it. Ponomarev, 21, was Carolina's most NHL ready prospect. He's been a consistent producer at the AHL level and is a responsible two-way center. Koivunen, 20, has been one of Liiga's top producers playing for Oulun Karpat. He has 22 goals and 57 points in 59 games and has shown incredible on-ice vision and hockey IQ. Lucius, 19, is playing at the University of Wisconsin. In his sophomore year, he has 12 goals and 31 points in 32 games. The conditions on the 2024 first-round pick is if Carolina makes the Stanley Cup Final, then it will go to Pittsburgh. If not, it becomes Philadelphia's 2024 second-round pick instead. The Canes will also send Pittsburgh a 2024 fifth-round pick if they win the Stanley Cup.
