The Pittsburgh Penguins will miss one of their best goal scorers to start the 2023-24 season.
In an unexpected twist to the Pittsburgh Penguins’ offseason, Jake Guentzel has undergone a successful ankle injury and will re-evaluated in 12 weeks.
This process will force Guentzel to miss at least the first few weeks of the Penguins’ 2023-24 season.
Guentzel stated during locker clean-out day that he was planning to represent Team USA in the 2023 World Championships, but was held out as a precaution.
According to Penguins president and general manager Kyle Dubas, Guentzel was starting his preparation for the upcoming season, but his injury was not going away.
-“As Jake continued to increase the intensity of his preparation for the upcoming season, it was apparent that his ankle injury was not resolving in a way that was satisfactory to he or the Penguins,” said Dubas. “In collaboration with Jake - his representative Ben Hankinson of Octagon Sports, the Penguins medical team led by Dr. Dharmesh Vyas of UPMC Sports Medicine, and Dr. Coetzee – it was decided that surgery would be the best way to ensure Jake would be at his best in 2023-2024.”
12 weeks from this announcement lands on October 27; the Penguins will have played seven regular season games by that specific date.
2023-24 is going to be a pivotal year for Guentzel, it’s the last year of his contract that earns him $6 million against the salary cap.
Guentzel will turn 29-years-old before he returns to the ice and is looking to bounce back from what he described as a ‘down year’ in 2022-23.
This injury will make Guetnzel, and his full $6 million, eligible for long term injured reserve.
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