3 teams that need to trade for Jake Guentzel right now
The 2023-24 season has been one of nightmares for the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Penguins expected to be competitive this season after missing the playoffs in the 2022-23 campaign, but have an ugly 27-24-8 record 59 games into the season, good for 62 points.
The Penguins sit in seventh place in the Metropolitan Division and are nine points out of a playoff spot. Pittsburgh does have games in hand making it not completely impossible for them to squeak into the playoffs, but with how they've played all season long they have virtually no shot at getting in.
With the Penguins unlikely to make the playoffs, selling at Friday's deadline makes the most sense. Veterans Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin aren't going anywhere, but Jake Guentzel, a star forward in the final year of his deal, is an incredibly appealing trade candidate. According to David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period, the Penguins are planning on trading Guentzel by the trade deadline assuming their lofty price is met.
There should be several teams interested in the 29-year-old, but there's a good chance Pittsburgh will look to send him out of the conference. These three Western Conference teams should do whatever it takes to trade for Guentzel right now.
3) The Golden Knights have more than enough money to acquire Jake Guentzel
The defending Stanley Cup Champions are not supposed to have enough money to acquire a player of Jake Guentzel's caliber, yet that's the position we find ourselves in right now.
The Vegas Golden Knights just placed captain Mark Stone on LTIR, and have $7.2 million to spend as a result according to Cap Friendly. Guentzel has a $6 million cap hit, making the Knights a landing spot where Pittsburgh wouldn't even have to eat any of the money.
The Golden Knights taking advantage of the flawed LTIR system would be nothing new, as they did it last season when they acquired Ivan Barbashev ahead of their run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Stone is out for the rest of the regular season and is reportedly questionable to return for the playoffs.
The Knights happen to have tremendous depth whether Stone is in the mix or not, but if they have the money to spend, why not go out and get arguably the best forward available? The Knights are already contenders and would only solidify that by acquiring Guentzel.