Jake Guentzel reflects on ‘pretty stressful’ time leading up to eventual trade to Carolina – Source: Imagn

Jake Guentzel’s name was involved in trade rumors last season, especially leading up to the trade deadline. The Pittsburgh Penguins were likely out of the playoffs, so he was the biggest trade chip available.

Guentzel transferred to the Carolina Hurricanes during the trade deadline. However, before the trade, his name had been linked to several other teams, which Guentzel said he found stressful.

“Yeah, that’s the thing—there wasn’t much communication. It was just kind of—you knew the media kind of put it out there that it was a possibility. There was a little contract talk the summer prior, but we couldn’t come to anything. And yeah, I was a free agent, so I knew the trade deadline, the rental situation, could be a possibility,” Guentzel said to John Scott on Droppin Gloves (timestamp at 9:38).

“It was kind of my first opportunity to go through maybe being a trade chip, so it was a lot of different things this year. I adjusted a little bit, but from my end, it was really cool. I mean, I was hurt during the trade deadline, so I was talking with my agent a lot, seeing what was going on daily. Obviously, it changes daily on what you hear and where you think you’re going to go, but it was a lot of fun—pretty stressful at times, too.”

After being traded to Carolina, he played in 17 regular season games recording eight goals and 17 assists for 25 points. He had four goals and five assists for nine points in 11 games in the playoffs, but the Hurricanes were eliminated in the second round.

Guentzel spent his first eight-and-a-half seasons with the Penguins after being selected 77th overall in the 2013 draft by Pittsburgh. The forward was a key part of the Penguins team that won the Stanley Cup in 2017 as he had 13 goals and eight assists for 21 points in 28 playoff games.

Jake Guentzel signs with Tampa Bay in free agency

After ending the year with the Hurricanes, Guenztel was the top free agent available and signed a seven-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Guentzel will be a big part of the Lightning’s offense this season as he replaces Stamkos.

The forward will be on Tampa’s top line and top power-play unit. In his NHL career, Guentzel has skated in 520 games recording 227 goals and 264 assists for 491 points. Tampa Bay opens its 2024-25 NHL season on Oct. 11 against the Hurricanes.