Penguins Look To Keep Jake Guentzel for Playoff Push
Jake Guentzel might be a top name on trade boards, but the Pittsburgh Penguins will look to retain their leading scorer.
As trade speculation around the NHL ramps up, it seemed like one of the biggest targets would be Pittsburgh Penguins’ forward Jake Guentzel.
Playing in the final year of his contract on a Penguins team still on the outside looking into the postseason, it made sense that Guentzel’s elite goal scoring abilities would become a hot commodity.
In 37 games this season, Guentzel has led the team in points with 43 (18G-25A) and has been known for turning his game up a notch in the postseason.
In 58 career playoff games, Guentzel has recorded 34 goals and 24 assists for a 58 point total making him a point-per-game player.
The Penguins have either struggled or failed to reach the playoffs in each of the last five seasons, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t ready for one more run.
In 2023-24, the Penguins were almost completely rebuilt at the hands of Kyle Dubas and the core of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are still around with their elite sidekick in Guentzel.
Dubas added Erik Karlsson, Reilly Smith, and revamped the depth for a new look Penguins.
Despite all that, the Penguins struggled out of the gate and with no contract negotiations started between them and Guentzel, the trade speculation kicked off.
In recent weeks, however, the Penguins have found some regularity in the win column and are crawling back to where they’d like to be.
Now, just a single point out of the playoffs and only one win away from leapfrogging multiple teams in the Metropolitan Division, the Penguins might be looking to gear up for a run.
According to David Pagnotta, the Penguins aren’t going to consider moving Guentzel as long as he wants to stay in Pittsburgh, and they stick in the hunt for the playoffs.
Pagnotta expects with a new year to come some contract talks between the two parties,
Guentzel is likely going to demand a large number, but he should be affordable (and worth it) with some key contracts likely coming off the books and the salary cap expected to rise.
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