Penguins' Jake Guentzel and Jason Zucker Surprised In Different Ways
The Pittsburgh Penguins top left wings had one thing in common this season.
The 2022-23 Pittsburgh Penguins relied heavily on the performance of their top players. While most had fantastic seasons, the rest of the roster wasn't good enough to push the team into the postseason.
2022-23 Penguins player reviews continue with Jake Guentzel and Jason Zucker.
Jake Guentzel
The expectations for Guentzel were sky-high entering the 2022-23 season. Guentzel met many of those expectations this season, leading the team in goals (36) for the second time in his career and finishing third on the team in points (73).
Still, something felt off about Guentzel the entire year. He has always been a steady goal scorer with fewer peaks and valleys, but this season saw Guentzel's goal scoring fluctuate more often. He started the year red hot, scoring eight goals in his first ten games despite missing a handful of games with an injury.
Then came a long stretch of Guentzel failing to score at even strength. Between November 12th and January 5th, Guentzel scored four goals at even strength, with three coming on an empty net. He broke out of his slump on January 8th with a two-goal performance against the Arizona Coyotes, but his surprising inconsistency remained a factor the rest of the season.
By the end of the year, Guentzel had put together one of the quietest 36-goal seasons in Penguins' history. Guentzel remains the Penguins' most prominent goal scorer and has just one year remaining on his contract.
Jason Zucker
It finally happened. Zucker finally broke through as a member of the Penguins this season. In a contract year, Zucker put together the second-best season of his career, scoring 27 goals and 48 points in 78 games.
His aggressive and abrasive play style led the way for the Penguins forecheck in most games this season as he played the role of the energizer bunny for this team. Zucker produced one of the more memorable moments of the season when he scored the first goal in the reverse retro "Robopen" throwback uniform and hit the Jaromir Jagr salute.
Zucker's ability to stay healthy and contribute at a high level was a welcomed surprise for the Penguins. It was also one that the Penguins sorely needed. Without terrific seasons from Zucker and the rest of the Penguins' top six, this team would've finished much more than one point out of a playoff spot.
The question now becomes whether or not Zucker returns next season. He has earned a new contract, but the Penguins may not have the cap space to give him one.
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