Jake Guentzel 2023-24 Exit Interview The Carolina Hurricanes acquired forward Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins at this year's trade deadline in what was a major blockbuster move for the organization. Guentzel, 29, instantly meshed with the Hurricanes, putting up eight goals and 25 points in 17 regular season games and four goals and nine points in 11 postseason games. Now an upcoming free agent, Carolina will be hoping that they can keep him around just a little bit longer. The Canes held their first round of exit interviews on Saturday following the conclusion of their 2023-24 season which ended after losing in six games to the New York Rangers in the second round of the playoffs. Here's what Guentzel had to say: -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- On fitting in in Carolina: It felt good. It's an easy group to be a part of. Just unbelievable guys and they made it pretty easy for me. Obviously it's not fun being here right now. You wanted to have kept playing, but it was just a good overall experience for me. On if he'd want to re-sign with the Hurricanes: I loved my experience here. It's a great place to play. I don't think you realize behind the scenes how good it is and the guys make it good too. We'll see what happens. I just loved my time here and we're going to see what happens in the next little bit here. On the experience of being traded: It was a new experience, but that's what's fun about it sometimes. You kind of get used to a spot so it was fun to have a new experience and get to a new place where it's kind of a new challenge. Family loved it and it was a great spot for us. On if anything about Carolina surprised him: How good the weather is. Nah, just how good the group is. Like you don't really know what you're getting yourself into sometimes and just the guys were unbelievable. That was the best part about it. On his linemates: Those guys [Sebastian Aho and Andrei Svechnikov] are just special players. They're so high end and just the way they control themselves. They're so competitive and that's what makes them the best. For me, you're just playing with good players and you try to make the most of it. We had a good little run. I think [Seth Jarvis] is unbelievable too. We played together and I had so much fun playing with those guys. On Rod Brind'Amour: He's been so successful for a reason. He's a great coach, great person. A player's coach who played the game for a long time too so he's been around it and knows what to expect and what he sees. I learned a ton from him and I thank him a lot. On where he wants to take his career next: I have a family now so that's a big part of it. It's not so much for me but for me and my family. I have a little one too, so there's a lot of factors that go into it, but so far I've loved everything about this place. On what he's looking for in his next contract: Let's hope so. That's the plan. Hopefully you can kind of get some stability and be able to sign here long term. On if he feels Carolina has the right to first pitch their offer before free agency opens: For sure. I've loved everything about here. I'm not really sure. I've never gone through the experience of UFA before so I'm not really sure what's going to happen or how it's all going to go down. It's kind of a new thing for me. We'll kind of just wait and see what happens. On if he feels the Hurricanes still offer him the ability to win the Stanley Cup: This team can for sure win the Stanley Cup. I think it's right there. [Being in Carolina] obviously puts you in a good spot to do that. I want to win more than anything and that's all I care about. That definitely plays a factor in all of it.
