‘Not My Choice,’ Guentzel Pins Trade Decision on Penguins
Jake Guentzel wanted to stay with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Instead, with playoff hopes fading like a sunset over the Appalachian mountains which connect Pittsburgh and the outskirts of Raleigh, Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas dealt Guentzel a couple of days before the NHL trade deadline to the Carolina Hurricanes.
Guentzel, 29, is a pending unrestricted free agent, and Dubas admitted in his post-deadline press conference that the two sides had not talked since last summer, meaning the sides had not engaged in serious contract talks.
Guentzel returned to Pittsburgh Tuesday as his Hurricanes lost to the Penguins 4-1 at PPG Paints Arena. In the postgame, Guentzel let his guard down and put the trade on the Penguins.
“My intention was to stay, but they just thought there was a better direction, to go a different way,” said Guentzel. “And it was out of my hands, so it was not my choice.”
He wisely punted questions about his immediate future and if he might return to the Penguins or re-sign with Carolina, saying he’s not thinking about the summer.
No, why would he? The Hurricanes are in second place and widely seen as Stanley Cup contenders capable of winning the Eastern Conference. If they do, the conditional second-round pick (the Philadelphia Flyers’ pick) that the Penguins received as part of the Guentzel trade would upgrade to Carolina’s first-rounder.
Guentzel had six shots against the Penguins but no points and was a minus-1. It was only the third time in nine games with Carolina that he’s been scoreless. He has two goals and 10 assists since the trade.
The former Penguins winger was the ultimate winger for Penguins’ Sidney Crosby, scoring 219 goals in 503 NHL games, mostly on Crosby’s left wing.
Even Dubas admitted the trade did not make the Penguins players happy. Now, Guentzel plays on Carolina’s top line with center Sebastian Aho and RW Seth Jarvis, two guys not dissimilar from Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust.
“They like to work hard. Both guys like to get on the forecheck and work hard,” Guentzel said. “Yeah, there’s a lot of different players in this league; it’s been good so far.”
The Penguins kept their tradition of honoring past players who have won a Stanley Cup with the team with a tribute video in the first TV timeout. Guentzel waved to the crowd.
“It’s special to me to be back here. You kind of grow up (here),” said Guentzel. “So, (I have) a lot of good memories in this rink, building, and in the city. Yeah, it’s just cool to get this done with a little bit.”
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Really? I’m shocked! I thought Guentzel was refusing to play and demanded a trade long ago. The important thing is we got younger, term included, with Bunting.
Bunting is only a yr younger…
Yinzers will say anything. Jake missed a few games because of injury, he missed his first game in Carolina because he was still hurt. Buntings like 11 months younger. Must be the person who yells “shoot the puck” at the game
Didn’t Jake’s agent have a role in how this played out?
Kinda rubs a lifelong Pens and hockey fan wrong when a player turns down a multi million dollar deal because it not enough money. Greed!
He nvr was offered a contract
Wanted to stay at his price he didn’t mention that part. Couldn’t take a chance on losing him for nothing.
So WTF was Dubas thinking? It is one thing if he had gotten a return that would have set the Pens up for the future. But he did not. This was a stupid trade, and one that will prove to close the window on the Crosby era. They should have paid him what he wanted to stay.
No reason for you to get downvoted. We lost production and got 1 month younger. This team has been a dumpster fire is the Jack Johnson trade. Yinzers will defend any organizations decisions. They still support the pirates. That trade definitely ruined the tail end of Sids career.
This is not what I heard, from a reliable source. I was told the Pens kept trying to negotiate with his agent, making very large monetary offers and multiple years, and they were told repeatedly that they would not negotiate with anyone until this summer. This seems to be borne out by the fact that he did NOT sign a contract with Carolina past the end of this season. He will be a free agent, and will have a bidding war, which is his right. But I wish he didn’t misrepresent what happened. When looked at this way, it’s easier… Read more »
You know, all the drama and Hextall celebrating how he kept the core together cheap, doesn’t give a good picture of lavish offers. You can see how Malkin was treated and yet people are wondering about how he’s playing. Those same people are advocating hockey as business, so it doesn’t really matter who’s playing, as long as they’re cheap. In this scenario, Malkin is doing enough to respect his contract, but remember his words and everything that went down just a year and a half ago. I’m sorry, people from management and ownership can say what they want, but they… Read more »
Everyone has a “reliable source “
The players have to shoulder some of this blame as well… if they would be in the playoff race, he wouldn’t have been traded. Their poor play forced Dubas’ hand. Why would he hold on to someone who will be gone at the end of the year if he can get assets for them now? I know Guentzel could have been resigned, but at $10M or whatever the price was per year for a long term contract? That would only hurt the rebuild a few years from now. The organization is kidding themselves if they think they can still retool.… Read more »
Jake the politician. Who does he think believes a word he says. If he wanted to remain in Pittsburgh, that decision was all up to him. No, he used his agent as the buffer between the Pens and his camp. Now blaming the Pens just so his agent looks like the good guy so teams that could be interested in him as a FA won’t be scared away by their real identity and think they’re dealing with a stand up citizen.
Sure he wanted to stay long term but for big bucks. Can you imagine the backlash Dubas would get if he gives Jake 7 or 8 years at 9 million per year? That’s no way to get younger. Now, if he wants to give the team a discount and take a contract for 5 years at around 7.5 million per year, that’s a whole other discussion. I’m with Dubas on this one.