Penguins
Jake Guentzel Loves Carolina; Details on Painful Penguins Injury
It was an upper-body injury that kept Jake Guentzel out of the Pittsburgh Penguins lineup for a few weeks, but nothing serious.
Right?
The Athletic’s Michael Russo recently did a feature story on Guentzel and the Carolina Hurricanes’ run in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The story contained a couple of nuggets that might specifically interest Penguins fans, including the severity of Guentzel’s injury.
Russo reported:
“Guentzel broke some ribs, and his oblique muscle ripped right off the bone.”
Ouch. You can read the full story here.
Many Penguins fans have held hope that Guentzel, 29, would return to the Team on July 1, when he’s set to become an unrestricted free agent. It would be the ultimate heist, with the Penguins receiving a few prospects and draft picks and eventually Guentzel skating in the same spot he spent the first seven years of his career, beside Sidney Crosby.
Such a reunion is unlikely as Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas admittedly strives to make the team younger, and Guentzel will be 30 next season. In addition to the two sides going in different directions, Guentzel seems to be adapting quite well to Carolina and the situation.
The Penguins trade was, in all probability, the end of the line for Guentzel in Pittsburgh. And if you’re curious, AFP Analytics’s recent calculations projected Guentzel’s next contract to be six years with an average annual value of $8 million.
He scored just one goal in the five-game opening-round victory over the New York Islanders, but he had been a scoring machine since donning a Hurricanes sweater.
The left-winger had 25 points (8-17-25) in just 17 games with Carolina, proving once and for all that he’s hardly dependent on Crosby for offense.
And he seems pretty happy.
“Look at this place … The weather’s great, the team’s great. Great players. A great coach, and we play a style where there’s no ice, no room when you play us,” said Guentzel to Russo.
“The city’s great, the fans are amazing. This is a great hockey place. What’s not to like?”
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I never was one of the delusional fans who thought he might be back.
“This is a great hockey place. What’s not to like?”. No shakes, Jake, no shakes.
Haha. Well done.
There is probably a bbq sandwich named after him. If not, soon there will be.
You left a good quote of Jakes out:
“It was tough because I was so close to a couple guys, especially Sid. I sat next to him for I don’t know how long, and a guy I really looked up to and a guy who took me under his wing. I was very fortunate to play alongside him. We got so close, he’s really like an older brother to me.”
Now will sid ask him to come back and would that change his mind (assuming dubas would even consider it).
I’d prefer he creates a new 3rd line, one that is or can be a 2nd line. Marner and Stevenson? They need to limit the cores minutes night in night out and have the ability to actually roll 4 lines
Doc-Sid-Rust
Bunting- geno- rakell
— stevenson-marner
—eller-acciari
Problem is we’d need to move smith and probably Graves which is tough with no assets to make both happen
Good for Jake! He’s earned everything he gets. I will, however, miss him terribly. He’s not where I would choose to get younger, but his contract is up and others that are older and harder to move are not.
Everyday I think of this move and decision and can’t help but feel crappy about it. Winners aren’t easy to find, he’s a winner. Scores big goals in big games (playoffs)…in fact his goals per game is second amongst active players…better than McDavid, Mackinnon, Ovechkin, Matthews, Kucherov, Point, Stamkos, Crosby, Malkin….etc…etc..only Draisitil has a better goals per game….I really wish Dubas saw things differently…I think if you are really committed to winning a cup while Sid’s here, you keep a guy like that…you won’t find that guy easily available on the free agent market….but living in Toronto….my biggest issue with… Read more »