Penguins Came Out on Top of Jake Guentzel Trade
Even without a first-round pick, the Pittsburgh Penguins got the better of the Jake Guentzel trade.
The Jake Guentzel trade official closed last night following the Carolina Hurricanes' game-six loss to the New York Rangers. As a result, the Pittsburgh Penguins will receive the 44th overall (second-round) pick from the Philadelphia Flyers and will not receive a fifth-round pick in the 2024 NHL Draft.
The Penguins would've preferred to receive their conditional picks, but even without those selections, Pittsburgh came out on the better side of that deal.
Not only did the Penguins receive an immediate impact player, Michael Bunting, with two years remaining on a team-friendly contract. They also received two prospects that could become NHL contributors as early as next season in Vasily Ponomarev and Ville Koivunen. They also added a mid-tier prospect in Cruz Lucius and a second-round pick.
In exchange, the Penguins gave up Ty Smith, whom they had no use for following Erik Karlsson's arrival and a second-round playoff exit.
Guentzel was phenomenal for the Hurricanes, scoring 34 points in 28 games, including the postseason. However, the Hurricanes fell short against the Rangers and failed to reach the conference finals, let alone the Stanley Cup Final.
The Penguins weren't on track to sign Guentzel. They weren't on track to make the playoffs, and Dubas secured a significant return for a pending free agent in what many considered a buyer's market at the deadline.
Dubas had as many misses as he had hits in his first season with the Penguins, but the Guentzel trade firmly falls into the latter category.
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