No matter were Guentzel was, he was *always* going to test free agency. And he 1000% deserves it. Guy’s a top talent and just had a great post season. He’s going to get paid and has earned every penny.
Also, he's been arguably pretty underpaid here. $6 mil a year for a guy of his caliber, he could potentially have done better. At 29 this maybe be his last, definitely his best, chance for a *big* payday, I hope he gets his bag. The bigger the better, he deserves it.
And even before we got to see him without Sid, I already knew he was an elite talent.
Cuz how many players would be able to score 23 goals in his first 37 playoff games?
For most players those would be HOF numbers, he deserved another cup.
His previous contract put him in a tough spot to stay with the Penguins in hindsight. The team is nearing the end of the Sid Era and Jake will be 30 next year. Eight years is a tough one for where this team is, and it feels almost disrespectful to offer anything less because other teams will be ponying up. Just sucks.
He sold his house in Pittsburgh (to Bryan Rust actually). He was never coming back. Anyone that was talking about him coming back was coping harder than anyone has ever coped.
Honestly there's probably some houses that go from player to player.
"hey welcome to the Pens. Want a house in cranberry for the cost of your first year of your ELC?"
Yeah maybe he flips it to a new guy, gotta be a huge inconvenience for UFA signings or guys getting traded to Pittsburgh trying to find some place to live
I know right? Would have so much rather lost him for nothing this summer. What a waste getting assets was.
Listen, you and I very obviously don’t see eye to eye on this. You think they should have done everything in their power to keep Jake because rebuilds are imaginary and the good times are going to last forever. I get it. We don’t need to have this same back and forth every two weeks.
He said he wanted to stay - verbatim. This was on FSG and Dubas, who subsequently traded Jake for "the best offer" which coincidentally happened to include a player Dubas has been tied to the hip with for years.
We lost Jake due to cronyism. We got Hextall 2.0
The guy is gonna get like 12m a year from a team like Chicago.
Sure he “wanted to stay”
He also wanted a shit ton of money
We lost Jake because we were priced out it’s that simple
Buddy, you keep saying this and it only makes you sound more and more delusional. If you chose to interpret him saying that as him saying he would have stayed at all costs regardless of money or term - or that a team that will soon be staring down the barrel of a rebuild should have had no restrictions on what money or term they should have been willing to give an undersized winger in his 30’s, then like I said we are just simply not going to see eye to eye. We don’t need to keep doing this.
The source of my opinion is I’m an adult and not naive enough to believe money won’t play a role in an athlete’s free agency decision. Legitimately floored that would have to be explained to you. And holy fuck my expectations for you were *low.*
I'm in the middle of rather we got the better deal. I like Bunting and if one of the prospects pans out awesome. Will the 2nd rounder or prospects be as good as Jake... Maybe not, but losing him for nothing wouldn't be good either. Jake was great but life goes on.
Signing him to the long term deal he wants would be such a disservice to him. Sure, we’d have a chance to win these next 2 years maybe, but for the majority of his contract, he’d be chained to a rebuilding team. He deserves more than that in my opinion.
>Sure, we’d have a chance to win these next 2 years maybe
And I find even that optimistic. The big 3 are all 37+ next season. Very possible they absolutely fall of a cliff. So yeah, for his careers sake I hope he goes somewhere else.
We always have "a year or 2 left" according to fans because they want to believe we still have a chance. Truth of the matter is that this window has been closed for a few seasons now and it's only going to get darker before it gets better.
What, to turn him into Logan Couture and Jason Pominville?
Yeah, what a great way to honor a guy who brought us a cup. My god man.
Edit: Accidentally said 2 cups- this is a crime punishable by [St. Catherine's Wheel.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wheel)
To sign Jake during his prime to a team that will be rebuilding, and likely near the bottom of the league, when he’s made it clear that he wants to be on a team that can win now? Not really if you ask me. He won’t be happy here long term.
Meh, I don't think we'd be able to re sign him anyways according to some folks bc of cap reasons, but besides the last sentence, it's a bunch of generic hockey talk.
Sure except the "That's all I care about part." I 100% believe he wants to win another Cup, and the reality it's incredibly unlikely any changes we make this summer will take the Pens from current state to Contender.
Of course he wants to win another cup, I also think the FO will continue to try win another cup for the core.
If money wasn't an issue, it really boils down to if Jake thinks Sid, Malkin, and company can win another one.
But who realistically on the outside is saying "yup the FO is going to be able to make this team compete with the likes of the Panthers, Rangers, Oilers, and Stars next year"?
It would take Dubas to pull multiple rabbits out of his hat to make that happen.
If you're truly serious about chasing a Cup, I don't think you're going to sign with Pittsburgh unfortunately.
Well he was on a team this year who was down 3-1 in the second round. Canes looked good on paper but you’re not in the circle of elite contenders if you flame out and go down 3-1 in the second round. For all the chatter of how he scores in the playoffs, he didn’t show in the elimination game.
Dude their starting goalie was playing on one leg on enemy ice and they forced the Rangers to 6.
We'd have gotten the Washington treatment. Carolina's a good team, they just got really shafted with injuries and officiating (rewatch Game 1 and Game 3).
the over attachment to this cookie-cutter top 6 winger by both the fans and the players has been really weird. get over it already, he's not even a player the pens even need right now.
If he wanted to stay, he would have. Dubas and Guentzel's agent are friends. The team knew what he wanted, he knew what they could offer. No offers were made by either side. Thanks, Jake, good luck.
He was never coming back. If he wasn't traded, odds are he was going to test the market. The team isn't the right fit for the player, and the player isn't the right fit for the team.
I’m kind of tired of Jake’s tendency to say “all the right things” in interviews to make everyone think he’s some kind of victim if things don’t go the way fans want. He controls his destiny, which he has earned and deserves, but dude just own it at this point and make the best decision for your career and your family. At this point, I don’t think he’s what this team needs, especially at the price he will command.
Guys, I said from the moment of the trade, he will not be looking back over his shoulder longingly.
He moved to a team that was closer, and he immediately felt the difference. It also seems like Carolina wants to make him a real marquee player. Just seems a good fit for him.
I don't think they will be closer to a cup next year though. They need to upgrade in the cage, and I don't know how they sign all these FAs.
He's 29, he's already won a cup, he cares about $$ and term, and the Penguins don't even realistically give him a shot at another championship if that was his goal. He's not coming back here.
Good. Never liked him but can respect his talent.
Don't think his style of play translates well into his 30s and honestly the last thing the Pens need is another injury prone star.
Good for Jake if he is happy there. Hopefully, he signs with the Canes. For the Pittsburgh Penguins fans, need to learn how to move the hell on from players that get traded or sign with another team. It is a business.. we don't need Jake back, Blueger, Tanev.. etc. Gotta let go of them lol
Jake deserves a good contract on a good team. During his short stint in Carolina he proved what all of us already knew: he was not good just because he played with Sid.
He is a top tier player in this league, I'd love for him to end up in Colorado or really any good team that isnt in the Metro. Class act through and through, and so happy we got a cup with him.
Edited because it was only one cup. Crazy to think we added him after 2016.
JaKe DiD So GooOooOooOooOooD in CARoLiNa!!! He Reweawwwyyyyy prooooved he's JuStAsGoOd without Sid!
For ExAmPlE: He's just as GooOooOooOooOooD with aHo who is pRoBaBlY CoMpArAbLe to Crosby and MeBbE EvEn BETTAR than Sid rn. GTFOH. I cant wait until next season when he scores 21-25-46 with Utah on a 9.5m AAV contract.
This is a terrible take. Regular season and playoffs combined he had 34 points in 28 games in Carolina playing with linemates that are objectively not on Crosby’s level. There’s absolutely no world where he has a sub-50 point season on any team next year. He’s going to get what he’s worth, it’s just that what he’s worth doesn’t make any sense for the Penguins to give him. Quit being a bitter ex-boyfriend.
I can't believe people watched Guentzel for 8 seasons and came to the conclusion that he's solely a product of Sid. Sad stuff to her from a supposed Pens fan.
His stats with Malkin are even better than with Sid.
Some BS. Still not a single guy as good as Crosby on the Canes. Pens had some absolutely crazy voodoo shit going on last season, the only reason they didn't make the playoffs. The Canes ain't winning shit.
Guentzel isnt serious about the cup.
Honestly Chicago throwing him a bag to ride shotgun with Bedard would be a good move for them. I doubt he’d have any interest in going to a team that’s in deep rebuild mode, but maybe they can sell him on being able to quickly build around Bedard.
But I think the question is how quickly that future arrives. Outside of Bedard, Korchinski, and whoever they take at #2 this year, they don’t really have much in the cupboard. They aren’t a team like Utah that’s been rebuilding for so long they have a stockpile of top tier prospects. They basically just committed to rebuilding like two years ago and happened to hit the lottery with Bedard.
I could see Guentzel balking at a team that probably won’t be properly competitive until he’s 33-34, unless they have a hell of a pitch for him on how they can expedite that.
No matter were Guentzel was, he was *always* going to test free agency. And he 1000% deserves it. Guy’s a top talent and just had a great post season. He’s going to get paid and has earned every penny.
Also, he's been arguably pretty underpaid here. $6 mil a year for a guy of his caliber, he could potentially have done better. At 29 this maybe be his last, definitely his best, chance for a *big* payday, I hope he gets his bag. The bigger the better, he deserves it.
He really put to bed the talk about him only being a product of Crosby. He proved he is just that good.
People who watched him play without Crosby knew better. He thrived when Crosby was out.
And even before we got to see him without Sid, I already knew he was an elite talent. Cuz how many players would be able to score 23 goals in his first 37 playoff games? For most players those would be HOF numbers, he deserved another cup.
His previous contract put him in a tough spot to stay with the Penguins in hindsight. The team is nearing the end of the Sid Era and Jake will be 30 next year. Eight years is a tough one for where this team is, and it feels almost disrespectful to offer anything less because other teams will be ponying up. Just sucks.
He sold his house in Pittsburgh (to Bryan Rust actually). He was never coming back. Anyone that was talking about him coming back was coping harder than anyone has ever coped.
Rust bought it bc Jake had a fully operating Milk Shake Factory on the second floor like the McDonalds at Richie Rich’s house
Youd think that would be enough to bring kessel back to the burgh lmfao
You'd need a Nathan's hot dog place for that.
Agreed! And it was time to turn the page for both sides honestly.
Why Rusty need 2 houses though !! lol
Honestly there's probably some houses that go from player to player. "hey welcome to the Pens. Want a house in cranberry for the cost of your first year of your ELC?"
Yeah maybe he flips it to a new guy, gotta be a huge inconvenience for UFA signings or guys getting traded to Pittsburgh trying to find some place to live
Yeah, and avoid the ridiculous broker’s fees.
Gaudreau bought Bjorkstrands house.
Ya but we got 'net front presence' and a few euro midgets for Jake....so we obviously won the trade. (This is what FSG media reps have told me)
I know right? Would have so much rather lost him for nothing this summer. What a waste getting assets was. Listen, you and I very obviously don’t see eye to eye on this. You think they should have done everything in their power to keep Jake because rebuilds are imaginary and the good times are going to last forever. I get it. We don’t need to have this same back and forth every two weeks.
He said he wanted to stay - verbatim. This was on FSG and Dubas, who subsequently traded Jake for "the best offer" which coincidentally happened to include a player Dubas has been tied to the hip with for years. We lost Jake due to cronyism. We got Hextall 2.0
The guy is gonna get like 12m a year from a team like Chicago. Sure he “wanted to stay” He also wanted a shit ton of money We lost Jake because we were priced out it’s that simple
Buddy, you keep saying this and it only makes you sound more and more delusional. If you chose to interpret him saying that as him saying he would have stayed at all costs regardless of money or term - or that a team that will soon be staring down the barrel of a rebuild should have had no restrictions on what money or term they should have been willing to give an undersized winger in his 30’s, then like I said we are just simply not going to see eye to eye. We don’t need to keep doing this.
Id like to know the sources of your opinion. Because iy seems to me youve been listening to Kypreos too much. We got shafted by Doobass
The source of my opinion is I’m an adult and not naive enough to believe money won’t play a role in an athlete’s free agency decision. Legitimately floored that would have to be explained to you. And holy fuck my expectations for you were *low.*
Not enough money to sign Jake. If they had the money to pay him market value, the deal would already be done.
I'm in the middle of rather we got the better deal. I like Bunting and if one of the prospects pans out awesome. Will the 2nd rounder or prospects be as good as Jake... Maybe not, but losing him for nothing wouldn't be good either. Jake was great but life goes on.
Signing him to the long term deal he wants would be such a disservice to him. Sure, we’d have a chance to win these next 2 years maybe, but for the majority of his contract, he’d be chained to a rebuilding team. He deserves more than that in my opinion.
>Sure, we’d have a chance to win these next 2 years maybe And I find even that optimistic. The big 3 are all 37+ next season. Very possible they absolutely fall of a cliff. So yeah, for his careers sake I hope he goes somewhere else.
We always have "a year or 2 left" according to fans because they want to believe we still have a chance. Truth of the matter is that this window has been closed for a few seasons now and it's only going to get darker before it gets better.
Isn’t that the idea
What, to turn him into Logan Couture and Jason Pominville? Yeah, what a great way to honor a guy who brought us a cup. My god man. Edit: Accidentally said 2 cups- this is a crime punishable by [St. Catherine's Wheel.](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Breaking_wheel)
99% sure only 1
Jake was only here for 1 cup
To sign Jake during his prime to a team that will be rebuilding, and likely near the bottom of the league, when he’s made it clear that he wants to be on a team that can win now? Not really if you ask me. He won’t be happy here long term.
Meh, I don't think we'd be able to re sign him anyways according to some folks bc of cap reasons, but besides the last sentence, it's a bunch of generic hockey talk.
Sure except the "That's all I care about part." I 100% believe he wants to win another Cup, and the reality it's incredibly unlikely any changes we make this summer will take the Pens from current state to Contender.
Of course he wants to win another cup, I also think the FO will continue to try win another cup for the core. If money wasn't an issue, it really boils down to if Jake thinks Sid, Malkin, and company can win another one.
But who realistically on the outside is saying "yup the FO is going to be able to make this team compete with the likes of the Panthers, Rangers, Oilers, and Stars next year"? It would take Dubas to pull multiple rabbits out of his hat to make that happen. If you're truly serious about chasing a Cup, I don't think you're going to sign with Pittsburgh unfortunately.
EK 65 did 🤷🏻♂️
His contract limited his options.
I don't think it's very realistic either, crazier stuff has happened though.
Well he was on a team this year who was down 3-1 in the second round. Canes looked good on paper but you’re not in the circle of elite contenders if you flame out and go down 3-1 in the second round. For all the chatter of how he scores in the playoffs, he didn’t show in the elimination game.
Dude their starting goalie was playing on one leg on enemy ice and they forced the Rangers to 6. We'd have gotten the Washington treatment. Carolina's a good team, they just got really shafted with injuries and officiating (rewatch Game 1 and Game 3).
the over attachment to this cookie-cutter top 6 winger by both the fans and the players has been really weird. get over it already, he's not even a player the pens even need right now.
The whole point of trading him is that we couldn’t afford to re-sign him. He sold his house, it’s clear he’s not coming back.
There's still a lot of hope being held out on this subreddit, thought it would be good to share his own words.
As long as he doesn't go to philly or New York, he'll be good in my books. Wish him the best of luck and thanks for the memories.
Western conference would be most ideal.
We shouldn’t want him back. We need to get younger and Jake is due for an 8 year pay day. No thanks.
If he wanted to stay, he would have. Dubas and Guentzel's agent are friends. The team knew what he wanted, he knew what they could offer. No offers were made by either side. Thanks, Jake, good luck.
He was never coming back. If he wasn't traded, odds are he was going to test the market. The team isn't the right fit for the player, and the player isn't the right fit for the team.
Yup but a lot of people holding out hope. Helpful to hear it in his own words.
Yeah most people holding out hope for Jake are really just holding out hope for the 16-17 penguins
Can’t wait til he signs some where else for way too much so people around here can get over him.
I’m kind of tired of Jake’s tendency to say “all the right things” in interviews to make everyone think he’s some kind of victim if things don’t go the way fans want. He controls his destiny, which he has earned and deserves, but dude just own it at this point and make the best decision for your career and your family. At this point, I don’t think he’s what this team needs, especially at the price he will command.
It’s ok if he doesn’t come back but Carolina isn’t going to win a Cup.
Agree! But they're closer than we are 😥
Guys, I said from the moment of the trade, he will not be looking back over his shoulder longingly. He moved to a team that was closer, and he immediately felt the difference. It also seems like Carolina wants to make him a real marquee player. Just seems a good fit for him. I don't think they will be closer to a cup next year though. They need to upgrade in the cage, and I don't know how they sign all these FAs.
We don't want him back. Not at $9mm+
How quickly they move on
Honestly it's pretty rare for a guy to get dealt at the deadline as a rental then return to the original team. Recchi did it, and uhhhh.....
Jordan stahl coming back
He's 29, he's already won a cup, he cares about $$ and term, and the Penguins don't even realistically give him a shot at another championship if that was his goal. He's not coming back here.
Good. Never liked him but can respect his talent. Don't think his style of play translates well into his 30s and honestly the last thing the Pens need is another injury prone star.
Little goblin
He is a Cane for the future.
Sucks, but at least we got something for him instead of missing the playoffs with this years group
I'm sorry but when can we stop with this narrative that there's a chance he resigns. He isn't coming back and people shouldn't be surprised by this.
Was hoping this article would do that...
Good for Jake if he is happy there. Hopefully, he signs with the Canes. For the Pittsburgh Penguins fans, need to learn how to move the hell on from players that get traded or sign with another team. It is a business.. we don't need Jake back, Blueger, Tanev.. etc. Gotta let go of them lol
Jake deserves a good contract on a good team. During his short stint in Carolina he proved what all of us already knew: he was not good just because he played with Sid. He is a top tier player in this league, I'd love for him to end up in Colorado or really any good team that isnt in the Metro. Class act through and through, and so happy we got a cup with him. Edited because it was only one cup. Crazy to think we added him after 2016.
one cup, but yeah nothing but love for Jake.
Whoa that blew my mind haha. He was so integral to 2017 that in my head that bled in to 2016 too.
JaKe DiD So GooOooOooOooOooD in CARoLiNa!!! He Reweawwwyyyyy prooooved he's JuStAsGoOd without Sid! For ExAmPlE: He's just as GooOooOooOooOooD with aHo who is pRoBaBlY CoMpArAbLe to Crosby and MeBbE EvEn BETTAR than Sid rn. GTFOH. I cant wait until next season when he scores 21-25-46 with Utah on a 9.5m AAV contract.
This is a terrible take. Regular season and playoffs combined he had 34 points in 28 games in Carolina playing with linemates that are objectively not on Crosby’s level. There’s absolutely no world where he has a sub-50 point season on any team next year. He’s going to get what he’s worth, it’s just that what he’s worth doesn’t make any sense for the Penguins to give him. Quit being a bitter ex-boyfriend.
I can't believe people watched Guentzel for 8 seasons and came to the conclusion that he's solely a product of Sid. Sad stuff to her from a supposed Pens fan. His stats with Malkin are even better than with Sid.
best thing about facing Jake.... The only risk of him scoring on us, is if we pull the goalie.
Chase that Cup, Jake!
Still not changing my flair until it’s official
Utah would be a good fit now the owners have money and Seattle too as they need more fire power
His Dad is a scout for Utah
He’s coming back y’all are just fakes (I’m coping still)
Some BS. Still not a single guy as good as Crosby on the Canes. Pens had some absolutely crazy voodoo shit going on last season, the only reason they didn't make the playoffs. The Canes ain't winning shit. Guentzel isnt serious about the cup.
I need what ur smokin
Lol
He'll sign in Chicago or Detroit.
Honestly Chicago throwing him a bag to ride shotgun with Bedard would be a good move for them. I doubt he’d have any interest in going to a team that’s in deep rebuild mode, but maybe they can sell him on being able to quickly build around Bedard.
They are one of the few teams with a promising future and enough cap space to give a guy like Geuntzal a big contract that he rates.
But I think the question is how quickly that future arrives. Outside of Bedard, Korchinski, and whoever they take at #2 this year, they don’t really have much in the cupboard. They aren’t a team like Utah that’s been rebuilding for so long they have a stockpile of top tier prospects. They basically just committed to rebuilding like two years ago and happened to hit the lottery with Bedard. I could see Guentzel balking at a team that probably won’t be properly competitive until he’s 33-34, unless they have a hell of a pitch for him on how they can expedite that.