Jake Guentzel laughs retelling the story of his first welcome-to-the-NHL moment, which happened the morning of his debut.
It was Nov. 12, 2016, and Guentzel arrived at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh a wide-eyed rookie. He went into the dressing room, looked on the board and saw his name on a line with Phil Kessel and Evgeni Malkin.
“I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, how’s this gonna go?’” Guentzel quipped. “It’s two superstars.”
Guentzel’s locker stall was right next to the biggest star in the league, captain Sidney Crosby, who settled him down. As did the colorful Kessel, who played for Guentzel’s father Mike at the University of Minnesota.
“Just give me the puck, kid.”
Guentzel did that night and also scored two goals, including on his first shot on his first shift. It was a sign of things to come for Guentzel, who would go on to win the Stanley Cup in a historic postseason as a rookie, play several years as a trusted winger to Crosby, and this past summer, become the biggest fish in free agency.
Then, all of a sudden, Guentzel found himself fielding recruiting calls from Tampa Bay Lightning two-time Cup champion GM Julien BriseBois and coach Jon Cooper after they acquired his rights from Carolina on June 30. “They didn’t have to say much,” Guentzel said. “They didn’t have to sell.”
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And when Guentzel arrives at Amalie Arena for his Lightning debut on Oct. 12 against Carolina, it wouldn’t be surprising if he saw his name on the lineup card next to another pair of superstars: Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point.
“I can’t wait to get started,” Guentzel said.
That the Lightning signed Guentzel to a seven-year, $63 million deal sent a clear message. So did the fact Tampa Bay didn’t offer it to franchise icon Steven Stamkos. Guentzel doesn’t feel like he has to replace the future Hall of Famer, though they’ll likely be linked if the Lightning can get back to being a title contender.
“I wasn’t too sure what was going on behind the scenes with (Stamkos),” Guentzel said. “Obviously a highly respected guy, just unbelievable player, superstar in the league. But, from my end, when a team wants you, they trade for you. I think that was a pretty easy sell for me to go there. And playing in the National Hockey League, you’re going to have pressure wherever you play. That’s just part of it. Hopefully I can come in, produce and have some fun with it.”
Guentzel is used to pressure, having been part of many playoff runs in Pittsburgh. He was the top target at this year’s trade deadline, the Carolina Hurricanes’ hired gun in trying to get over the top. It was a whirlwind for Guentzel, who was on three teams in four months. Agent Ben Hankinson said there were times they thought Guentzel would remain with the Penguins, and they came “somewhat close” to a deal last summer. But the combination of Guentzel’s offseason surgery in 2023 and new GM Kyle Dubas not knowing what direction the team would be going played a role in the eventual breakup.
Jake Guentzel was dealt to the Hurricanes at the trade deadline during his eighth season with the Penguins. (James Guillory / Imagn Images)
“I think with (Guentzel’s) injury before last season, and (Dubas) was trying to decide which way they were going,” Hankinson said on the “Fellowship of the Rink” podcast. “If he was 100 percent healthy, maybe he gets signed. Jake wanted to re-sign in Pittsburgh. Dubas wanted Jake to sign, he knew how valuable he was. Jake is loyal, a great hockey player, loves (Sidney) Crosby, loves the Hall of Fame cast there. Wanted to get a deal done. We were somewhat close. But he was hurt and I think that was a reason it didn’t get done. They wanted to wait and see what was going to happen.
“Pittsburgh didn’t make enough of a statement this year to show everyone involved — most importantly probably Dubas — that they were ready to pay Jake what he’s going to get in free agency. And that was the right move for that team at the time. Were they going into rebuilding? Was Sid going to be there? It was such a tough dynamic. Dubas did a good job under some tough, uncertain times.”
Has Guentzel thought about whether he would have been re-signed had he not gotten hurt?
“Obviously it’s in the back of your mind on what would have happened,” Guentzel said. “You’re not really sure how everything would have played out. But it is what it is and that’s just how the business works. Sometimes change is inevitable.”
Dubas drove over to Guentzel’s Pittsburgh-area home right away to alert him of the trade in person. That was the first of many hard conversations that day, including when he went to the rink to grab his stuff.
“I went to say goodbye to some guys, especially Sid, (Kris Letang) and ‘Rusty’ (Bryan Rust),” Guentzel said. “I have a lot of memories with those guys and the friendships we’ve made. Coach (Mike) Sullivan, too. He was the guy that trusted me and put me in the position to succeed when I was a young kid and just came up in the league. A lot of credit goes to him. That was a tough one, too.”
The connection and friendship with Crosby was unique. Guentzel said there were many times a week they’d be texting each other after watching games on TV. “‘You see that play? You see what happened there?’ That’s part of the game nowadays is evolving and learning,” Guentzel said.
He’ll find a perfect match with Kucherov, then.
Kucherov, one of the game’s elite hockey minds, studies shifts of other stars like Patrick Kane and Leon Draisaitl. He calls it building a library. Guentzel said he can’t wait to get a front-row seat to how Kucherov operates.
“Just how poised he is, how skilled he is,” Guentzel said. “The passes he makes. Everyone on the power play knows where it is going to Point, and he still fakes everyone out. He’s just so deceptive with the puck and then there’s his skills along the walls. There’s a lot of things that are just remarkable to watch.”
Guentzel said he was “close” to re-signing in Carolina, having enjoyed his brief time there and grown an appreciation for players like Sebastian Aho. There was a changeover at GM in mid-June with Eric Tulsky taking over for Don Waddell, who left for the Blue Jackets job. But the closer you get to free agency, the more tempting it is to see what’s out there. “Maybe it took a little too long,” Guentzel said. “And didn’t come to fruition.”
“We had good conversations with (Tulsky) and (owner) Tom Dundon, who is more involved than most, we had a lot of discussions with him at the draft,” Hankinson said. “The big reason (Guentzel) didn’t end up back in Carolina is that the deal didn’t get done until the draft, and once you get that close to (free agency), all of a sudden teams start making moves and there’s a different buzz than there is in May or June. Now you’re at the end of June, you got that close then a big trade (by Tampa) to free up space. I thought (Guentzel) was signing in Carolina, but it didn’t happen.”
When the Lightning acquired Guentzel’s rights the day before free agency opened, Hankinson told him to stay by his phone, which Guentzel figured meant a deal might not be far away. There was so much to like about joining Tampa Bay, from Andrei Vasilevskiy in net to a Norris Trophy winner in Victor Hedman, who was among the first players to call and welcome him. They’ve lost in the first round in back-to-back seasons, which may partly be why Tampa Bay decided to change things up by signing Guentzel and letting Stamkos walk. But Guentzel believes the Lightning’s window is open.
“They’ve had the success, they’ve won before,” he said. “You know how good of a coach (Cooper) is, how good their team is. Everything I’ve heard about him, he’s an unbelievable coach. So I can’t wait to learn from him.”
As for what drives Guentzel and what the next step is in his career, he put it this way:
“I want a chance to win,” Guentzel said. “We won the first year and then I only made it to the second round twice. I want that feeling back again to be able to play for the Stanley Cup. I just want to grow as a player. If that’s scoring or making plays or being a 200-foot player — I want to make sure my game is well-rounded, and hopefully I can bring that to Tampa.”
(Top photo: Christian Petersen / Getty Images)