You may not realize it, but the Pittsburgh Penguins are being led in points by Jake Guentzel.

Things haven’t gone well for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they ride a three-game losing streak, but what may not be realized by many is the surging of Jake Guentzel.

Even in the Penguins’ most recent defeat at the hands of the Tampa Bay Lightning, Guentzel recorded the lone goal to extend his point streak to seven games.

Over those seven games, Guentzel has picked up four goals and four assists for eight total points.

Just prior to the start of his current streak, Guentzel saw an eight-game point streak come to an end with four goals and eight assists in that time.

In total, that give Guentzel 20 points (8G-12A) in the last 16 games played; he’s quietly shot up as the Penguins’ points leader on the season, as well.

Through 25 games, Guentzel leads the Penguins with 29 total points (10G-19A) including two game winning goals and is part of one of the best lines in hockey.

The line of Guentzel, Sidney Crosby, and Bryan Rust has been a top line at even strength both production wise and analytically.

Guentzel hasn’t scored as many goals as everyone is used to, but he has picked up his playmaking ability while Crosby has turned into more of a finisher.

This kind of run from Guentzel comes at a perfect time for him as he is in the final year of his contract and will be due a large payday if this keeps up.

Guentzel is in the final year of a contract that earns him $6 million against the salary cap.

With the likelihood that the NHL’s salary cap is set to rise and certain contracts will likely be off of the Penguins’ books, it’s feasible that Guentzel could request somewhere in the neighborhood of $9 or even $10 million.

The Penguins likely want to keep the elite talent of Guentzel around, but it might be hard if he keeps up this outstanding pace.

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