Penguins’ Jake Guentzel Hits Another Historic Milestone
Jake Guentzel continues to set himself apart in Pittsburgh Penguins history as an elite goal scorer.
PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins saw a 2-0 lead slip away in the third period against the Vegas Golden Knights making way for what could be a crucial loss in the season. Before the collapse, however, the Penguins saw one of their most talked about players reach a milestone not touched by many.
Jake Guentzel recorded the Penguins second goal of the game and his 20th of the season. The 2023-24 season is now the seventh consecutive year Guentzel has hit the 20-goal mark becoming just the fifth player in franchise history to achieve that feat.
Jaromir Jagr did it 11 straight years, Rick Kehoe and Jean Pronovost both went nine straight seasons, and Guentzel joins Evgeni Malkin as Penguins who have hit the 20-goal mark in seven consecutive seasons.
Sidney Crosby and Mario Lemieux are a pair of the best goal scorers in Penguins history, but even they only made it to six straight years with 20 or more goals. Crosby, however, has hit season consecutive seasons twice; first from his rookie year in 2005 up to his concussion in 2011, then again between 2013 and 2019. The following season was cut short due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
Guentzel has been a hot topic in trade discussions and he continues to set himself apart from some of the best players in the NHL. The Penguins have a tough decision to make when it comes to Guentzel’s future, but for the time being, he continues to show his level of talent and consistency.
This is Guentzel’s seventh straight season with 20 or more goals in his eighth year in the NHL. During the 2016-17 campaign, Guentzel was recalled to the NHL level and played 40 games scoring 16 goals. Give even a rookie Guentzel a few more games and he would have reached the mark.
Over the course of his career, Guentzel has become known for his goal scoring ability. With 34 in 58 career playoff games, Guentzel was just one goal shy of the rookie record for tallies in a postseason with 13 in 2017. Guentzel is twice a 40-goal scorer and was on pace for a third when he broke his collarbone during the 2019-20 season.
The Penguins currently don’t have any plans on moving Guentzel, but if push comes to shove, there will be plenty of teams lining up to make offers.
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