Penguins Traded Away Most Successful Deadline Pieces

Two former Pittsburgh Penguins have seen success since being traded before the deadline.

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t make many moves leading up to the NHL trade deadline, but the ones they did make have been impactful. With time winding down on the 2023-24 regular season, the two biggest names traded away from the Penguins have been successful with their new team.

According to Stan Nieradka in Jeff Marek’s SportsNet blog, Jake Guentzel and Alex Nylander have been the league’s most successful trade deadline acquisitions.

Guentzel has played 13 games with the Carolina Hurricanes and has made an immediate impact. The Hurricanes may finally get over their playoff hump and make a Stanley Cup run with Guentzel on their roster.

In his 13 games, Guentzel has scored five goals and a whopping 15 assists for 20 points, leading any player traded within 10 days of the deadline. Since Guentzel debuted in Carolina, the Hurricanes have gone 10-2-1 and look like one of the top teams in the NHL.

Nylander’s resurgence has been a bit more surprising since he played mainly with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this season. After being traded to the Blue Jackets, he returned to the NHL and has been one of the league’s hottest players.

In 19 games with the Blue Jackets, Nylander has scored 10 goals and four assists for 14 points. 10 goals tie a single-season career-high for Nylander when he scored that many in 65 games with the 2019-20 Chicago Blackhawks.

It’s important to note that Nylander missed a week due to injury as well. The Blue Jackets are looking forward to the end of the season and the possibility that the draft lottery balls fall their way, but Nylander’s play has been undeniable.

14 points pin him second to only Guentzel for most by a traded player. Both of which left the Penguins organization for possible brighter futures.

If it is any consolation for the Penguins, third on that list is Michael Bunting with 13 points (5G-8A) in 17 games.

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