Report: Penguins Forward Among Targets for Canucks
If the Pittsburgh Penguins open up their phones, the Vancouver Canucks would be one of the first teams to call.
PITTSBURGH – It still isn’t certain that the Pittsburgh Penguins will find a deal involving Jake Guentzel before the NHL’s trade deadline, but teams seem to be ready if he hits the market. The Vancouver Canucks have long been linked to Guentzel and it seems like they’re ready to take the swing.
According to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts Podcast, the Canucks are looking for a forward who cane play in the top of the lineup and Guentzel is among the names they are targeting.
“They are going to get a top six forward,” Friedman said. “This is what a couple of teams have told me. They think the Canucks have five guys they’re looking at. Four or five guys. Guentzel I think that’s very real.”
The connections between Guentzel and the Canucks stems from several key figures in their organization having history and familiarity with the Penguins and their star forward. President Jim Rutherford, general manager Patrik Allvin, and head coach Rick Tocchet all played roles with the Penguins in recent memory.
Penguins president and GM Kyle Dubas stated that he has not opened any sort of discussions with teams regarding a trade and is waiting to talk with Guentzel and his camp around the All-Star break. While not talks have started with other teams, that doesn’t mean they won’t open at some point.
Guentzel is a top goal scorer in the NHL and would have just about every team lining up to acquire his talents. The Canucks could be a top destination as Dubas has familiarity with Rutherford and Allvin stemming from a small trade earlier this season.
The Penguins and Canucks swapped defensemen in the early stages of the season and setting up that working relationship between the organizations. Friedman says that teams that have made deals with each other before makes future moves with one another much easier to pull off.
If Guentzel is on the move, it wouldn't be a shock to see the Canucks be the first team to make a call.
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