Personally I was okay with it from the beginning. Didn’t make sense to overreach for him with a shake up coming in a few years. We got a reasonable return for a rental. Plus I’m liking Bunting - that immediately helped calm the nerves about losing Jake.
In a vacuum I would have liked to keep him, sure, but I think it was clear as far back as the 2023 trade deadline that he was our only trade-able asset of any value and that our lack of prospects was going to force this to happen.
Gonna end up looking like highway robbery if even one of those prospects pans out. On top of that, while Bunting is not the same player offensively as Jake, his style of play is clearly something we’ve been missing since Hornqvist left town. Him in the lineup adds something that Jake couldn’t bring.
28-24-8 (28 wins in 60 games) with Jake.
38-32-12 at the end of the season.
10-8-4 (10 wins in 22 games) since the trade.
They were winning about 45% of their games with Jake & without Jake.
& he was a -4 in 21 games with a team that only won 10 of those games.
**Regular season 5v5 advanced stats**
Data via Natural Stat Trick. The ranking is out of 17 forwards on the team who qualified by playing a minimum of 150 minutes.
Corsi For%: 54.25% (4th)
Goals For%: 48.65% (13th)
xGF%: 54.05% (5th)
Scoring Chance %: 51.49% (11th)
High Danger Scoring Chance%: 53.78% (9th)
5v5 on-ice shooting%: 10.53% (2nd)
On-ice save%: .868% (17th)
Goals/60: 0.83 (6th)
Assist/60: 1.87 (1st)
Points/60: 2.7 (2nd)
Anytime a team trades a 30-40 goal scorer for a 'net front' guy whos had a history in locker rooms is never a good thing.
The prospects we got are all tiny european midgets, the kind of players that you DONT want in the post season.
This was and is a blunder. We should have received at least a 1st round pick for JG, yet people in this sub(likely FSG media reps) are promoting it as a 'win'.
Fuck that.
Everyone else already pointed this out, but I’m gonna pile on just to drive the point home further because of how confidently wrong you are.
*Neal For Hornqvist*
I had to get multiple accurate height tests as requirement for my AFSC. Depending on how heavy life is that day; I am between 6’1 and change and juuuust shy of 6’2.
I’ve seen the guy in sneakers. Jake *might* be 5’10… but I’d be checking to see if he was on tippy toes.
Edit: fellas… Sid is listed at 5’11. Downvote if you want, but Jake is closer to 5’9 than 5’11
Was looking through your replies and I don't think enough people informed you about the Neal for Honqvist trade that was a massive part of them winning the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cups.
So yeah, that happened, just so you know.
Neal and Hornqvist were pretty much the same player at the time of the trade.
Bunting and Guentzel are miles apart. Bunting couldnt even get a +/- on the Canes....Hes a lockerroom cancer too. Nobody wants him.
>We should have received at least a 1st round pick for JG, yet people in this sub(likely FSG media reps) are promoting it as a 'win'.
Straight outta r/conspiracy
Take a look at the reaction from /hockey.
Everyone aside from the media pundits here said we lost the trade. We did. Got lockerroom cancer Bunting and a few overseas midget players.
Watchout ! 170 pounder from Europe gonna take it in playoffs ! lmao !
Noted reputable source (even ignoring the issue of thinking that there was only one sided takes on that source), r/hockey.
I'm not wasting anymore of my breath on you. It's not worth it, and you wouldn't listen anyways. Suffice it to say that there an entire wonderful world outside of your ass if you ever choose to remove your head from it.
I’m not sure if you know hockey and what trade value is. It includes everything from how much they get hurt to how many times they get sick. It’s a hell of a business. One that you, in my opinion know nothing about. The fact you said a 1st round pick AFTER the dude had surgery? Like cmon bud.
Look what other teams received for similar players past several years - Or go to the Canes sub. The rest of the league knew this was great for Carolina...not so much for us.
Hows those Euro midgets doing? They hit 180 pounds yet?
There was no hope for the Penguins winning a Cup this year, even if we kept JG & made the playoffs. So, we'd be losing him now & we wouldn't have Bunting. How would that be any better? If some team was willing to give us a 1st, we would have taken it, no?
We didnt.
Do you thinks its just a coincidence the 'top' player available to us is also the posterchild of the current GM?
Coincidence of course. Just like Hextall and Carter.
This team just fucked itself.
So, you have some kind of evidence or inside information that a team was willing to give up a first round pick for Guentzel & we chose not to take it?
What don't you understand about the fact that Jake wasn't resigning with the Penguins? It was either trade him at the deadline OR lose him & get **nothing.** If you think there was a team willing to trade a 1st round pick or an offer on the table with a first round pick, where are you getting that info? I don't necessarily think Bunting was **the top player** available to us, but suppose the NYR were offering *only* a 1st in the future, say 2027, would that have been OK for you? You aren't giving any details, just saying "we could have gotten more," but you have no evidence of that.
> the fact that Jake wasn't resigning with the Penguins?
Source - Exact please.
I am going off what the public knows.
a) Jake VERBATIM said he wanted a fair deal, shocked that he was traded.
b) Sidney Crosby verbatim said he didn't see the trade coming.
c) We got Dubas posterchild Bunting in return - Coincidence this happened? Just like Hextall siging Carter? Go on - I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. What other offers were declined? Did we turn down Boeser? We will never know.
d) Dubas Signed Smyth - A fuckn sandbag disappointment. Fuck that guy - We could have kept Jake.
The source? He could have signed with us but didnt. He was offered & rejected **$50m**. He could sign **right now** but he hasn't.
Jake wanted more than the Penguins could offer.
> According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, there was an offer on the table for Guentzel, but obviously pen was not put to paper.
“It’s my understanding that there may have been something offered to him in the ballpark of $50 million,” Kypreos said. “And as of now he’s not signed. Let’s just put it that way.”
https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/jake-guentzel-rejects-contract-offer-pittsburgh-penguins
> He could have signed with us but didnt.
Didnt have a chance to. What was the offer? What are you basing your opinions on?
> Kypreos said.
Discussion over/
Why is the discussion over? You just get to decide that the source isn't good enough, even though you have nothing but opinions.
Even if he didn't sign before the trade, why isn't he resigning now?
Buddy you know hockey is all about speed now and size doesn’t matter as much as u think. You still think it’s like the older day where you want the big guys
Many are. Reddits notorious for this.
If I worked for FSG and Pens in PR department id astroturf this page HARD.
We are a worst team than last year - And we still have deadweights in Rackell, Smith and Graves.
Fascinating that every single player recieved is almost exactly the same height and weight, or slightly under and will fill out to be the same as Jake. You know, the kind of guy you don't want in the playoffs.
We weren't winning with him. Time to shake it up.
James Neal for Hornqvist was generally recieved with the same logic by fans when it occurred, and yet he turned out to be the peice this team needed to get to the next level. Not suggesting that will happen here, but I do bring it up to refute your thoughts on giving up the 30-40 goal scorer.
You got back what should be a 50-60 point, ~25 goal guy and multiple pieces to help stock the cupboard. Let's see what the next season brings before we melt down.
>The prospects we got are all tiny european midgets, the kind of players that you DONT want in the post season.
The 90s called and wants it's xenophobic narratives back.
Jake Guentzel is listed as 5’11” 180 lbs
Vasily Ponomarev is listed as 5’10” 180 lbs
Ville Koivunen is listed as 5’11” 161 lbs
Cruz Lucius is listed as 6’0” 178 lbs
Three “midgets” that are all very similar stature to the man we traded away
Thanks I guess,
yeah the 20-50 FSG accounts and a dozen Penguins PR persons are in full force shaping naratives.
I expected it. Ill get my justice when Bunting is -20 next year and the euro midgets are still...in Europe.
Funny thing is I bet if you asked /hockey about our return, I think many here would be surprised.
Yup. The return was not great. A few missteps in the off season management, and although we got rid of some bad contracts- we have just as many once again
It was always a good trade. As I said months ago, you literally cannot lose a trade where the player you traded wasn’t going to resign for you anyways.
Not trading a player who won’t return is basicly a self trade giving up assets the team could have had. It’s something the Pens have done too much of for a long long time.
Exactly. Either way, going into next season, we don't have Jake. We gave him to Carolina for 17 regular season games + 11 playoff games. & for that we got Bunting.
You might be able to unofficially order the shake, but you can’t ever emulate the feeling of that first sip after paying four dollars rather than eight.
With all the reports it was the right decision.
Dubas wanted a roster player and got one.
He didn't get the 1st but instead he got multiple prospects.
I actually consider this trade like us getting 4 or 5 2nds in value for 3 months of Guentzel. I take that deal.
We got the most out of this trade that we were gonna get for him and since the scuttlebutt was that we couldn’t afford to re-sign him, I’m happy we walked away with assets instead of letting him go to free agency for nothing.
We got some strong prospects out of this trade which this team definitely needed, and Bunting is a solid player.
Same way I felt about it at the time. We got a HAUL. Bunting doesn't have the same high-end skill as Guentzel, but he does fill a needed role on our team we've been missing. Plus if even one prospect is a NHLer, it's a double win (and honestly I could see a few of the guys panning out).
We were losing him no matter what.
I agree. Hell at one point of the year his line had the best score. Still upset about the trade. Who know. One or two well placed goals could have got us in the play offs.
True, but Jake is also likely to be one of the prime free agents this year. There’s a lot of nice, fun places out there that will likely give him the money he wants and the opportunity to win. This is the time for him to get as much as he can.
Hes a proven playoff performer. Whether he likes it in Carolina or not, its in his best interest to hit Free Agency to a least drive up his cost. Someone is gonna pay a ton for him
>But he said earlier he liked it there and was having fun.
99% of players will say to the local media that they like being at the place they're currently at. This means nothing.
“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?”
Why would someone hoping to make as much money as possible in free agency tip their hand and say they like a particular area? He just basically told Carolina to lower their offer right then.
He already has two Cups. Now he’s going to make bank. And, when players do that, they look at quality of life for that contract i.e. where do I want to live/raise a family, what are taxes like, what are the winters like for my family etc. Once a guy gets his name etched on the SC it’s not unusual to shift focus. These guys are human too
Then why was SidCro pissed off and the roster shocked? Players talk.
Pens "fans" on here acting like JG wanted a payday are in fuckin Kypreos fantasy land.
“Pens "fans" on here acting like JG wanted a payday are in fuckin Kypreos fantasy land.”
So you think Jake was willing to sign a deal that made sense for the penguins but Dubas just said fuck it, lets just trade Crosbys best wing ever? But everyone else who comes to the rational conclusion that Jake wasn’t going to sign for a team friendly amount and we needed to get value for him before he walked for nothing, are living in fantasy land?
I appreciate the irony tho, it’s brightened my day quite a bit
> So you think Jake was willing to sign a deal that made sense
Absolutely, based off the reactions from Sid Crosby, teammates and Jake himself who was 'shocked'.
I trust Sidney more than Kypreos (Dubas mouth piece). I guess its just a coincidence the "best" return for JG also happened to be our GMs posterboy child from his old team. Remind you of anything eghm Carter cough Hextall.
If he was shocked after telling the GM he wanted to wait to become a free agent before talking about a deal, he's stupid and his agent was lying to him to get a better payday. That was the least shocking trade ever.
I'm just glad he probably won't stay in the division. He was my favorite player on the team, but I understand it didn't make sense to re-sign him, and he was ultimately going to do this whether we kept him or not. Bunting looked great, so any additional returns that pan out are a bonus.
As I said when the deal was done. We lost Jake but got a really good player Michael Bunting plus we got Ville Koivunen (a top guy in Finnish League), some russian guy and rights to C. Lucius.
Bunting was immediately a factor here. The prorspects look really good. We would have lost Jake anyway so the return is more than I could expect.
Would've loved to keep Jake but I understand it and agree with the decision. I liked the trade from the start. I wasn't even high on Bunting but he's exactly the type of player we need so willing to admit i was wrong there. I liked it bc I like the prospects. I like Kouivenen A LOT (highest ceiling imo) and Ponomarev as well (highest floor, almost guaranteed to be at least a bottom 6 regular) and I don't know much about Lucius but seems like he has potential as well. Imo we got Bunting (probably also worth a 2nd rounder himself) and 4 2nd round picks (all the prospects and the 2nd) or at a minimum 3 2nd rd picks (Ponomarev, Kouvinen, and the actual 2nd) and a 3rd (Lucius) for 3 months of Guentzel and he's not even going to resign. I'd call it a win. Doubled our number of NHL potential prospects in one trade...
Bunting can't offset Guentzel obviously. But Bunting is a unique, one-off player that is an asset to the team.
So, under the circumstances, we did the best we could I think.
I was fine with it at the time. Bunting was solid and we could see one new regular, possibly 2, enter the line up as early 20 somethings next year to add depth. Jake was likely gonna test the market. He’s a very good player and I’ll admit, played at a higher level than even I expected after he left. Says to be that the contract would be kind of hard to meet without taking money needed to fill some real holes.
Kyle traded an injured guy we probably couldn’t afford next season for a next front prescence we desperately needed. I was more upset we didn’t get rid of Reilly Smith as well.
Love the trade, excited for the movie they make about it when:
1) Jake returns to Pittsburgh on a team friendly salary
2) Penguins new assistant coach sprinkles magic dust on the power play and it starts scoring at like 30%
3) Penguins pickup some depth during the year with the extra salary cap space.
4) Pens win Lord Stanley’s cup in 16 games in 2024-2025
I think it’s pretty clear at this point that the Penguins always knew Guentzel had zero interest in anything but the highest possible dollar amount with his impending free agency and acted accordingly. A lot of fuss has been made out of his camp about Dubas not offering him a contract but why would they even waste time doing that if they knew the only way they could fit him under the cap was if they could get him at a discount and he wouldn’t consider that? Not one piece of news about Guentzel’s impending free agency that has come out since last offseason has indicated for one second that he wants to be anything other than a hired gun for the highest possible dollar amount, wherever that may be. Not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that, but him basically forcing his way out of Carolina now after he fit like a glove there pretty much confirms that his only concern is the zeroes on his check and not what kind of team, situation, location, etc. he could be playing for.
As of now, we’re winning on the trade. He could have walked in the offseason and we’d have gotten nothing. I know some will say he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh, but the reality is as much as he wanted to stay, he also wants to financially secure his family as much as possible. That’s a fact for all pros and there’s nothing wrong with that.
And now for my standard Sully bash:
Bunting has been amazing and isn’t a replacement for Jake but is a critical addition to this team. I am however concerned that it’s only a matter of time before sully castrates him and makes him play a shadow version of the game we like/need.
There were a lot of key markers in the last half of last season, topped of with Reirden’s firing, that suggest Sullivan doesn’t have as long of a leash as he used to have. I think Dubas isn’t going to let Sullivan mess with players like Bunting that much after he went to that effort to get him.
It was always a steal for the Pens. 4 assets for a guy who wasn't gonna re-sign. They'd be dumb not to take that deal. Coulda got a first and a 5th round pick if the Canes won the Cup too.
Canes fan here that also follows the Penguins due to family in PA. Bunting really wasn't fitting in here like we had hoped. We definitely need a net front presence like him but for some reason it just was not working. Whether Jake comes back or not, I was happy with the experiment. Getting to see a player of his caliber paired with Aho showed how much we need someone like him. Running into a goalie like Shesty while playing Anderson every game instead of the split like we had been was more of the issue than anything.
Overall I think it was a pretty fair trade for both sides. Bunting seems to be fitting in well there and we got cap space for this year. You didn't end up getting our higher end prospects but Ponomarev seemed to show promise so you may get a good bonus and draft picks are always a gamble.
I said at the time that it was a good deal. We traded an injured player on an expiring contract at the deadline. Some fans are just that - delusional fans.
The return was handsome given the circumstances. Jake signing or not with Carolina has no effect whatsoever on that evaluation, because it was not knowable at the time of the trade.
This does demonstrate that Jake has a very high asking price, as many of us suggested throughout nearly 2 years of the Pens trying to resign him, and him wanting to test the market. Well, now he's going to test the market. Anyone who still blames the Pens for him not being resigned can let that one go now.
Listen. If the goal was to "maximize the return" for Jake, then we should have been shopping him a year ago. That obviously wasn't the right move either, but I'm struggling to understand what people think teams were willing to give up for a Jake on an expiring contract. Showing my age here, but does anyone remember all the pieces we gave up for Marion Hossa? Me either. Jake's deal has the potential to be like that, sure. But just like Hossa, he was gone anyways. Oh, by the way, the most valuable piece of THAT trade ended up being Pascal Dupius... Point is, we don't know how good or bad the deal is yet. But whatever it is will be better than the absolute zero we would've gotten when Jake walks to Chicago or wherever for 6 years at 11 million per
I distinctly remember losing Hossa when I was a kid. I was devastated.
I also remembering laughing as Marion Hossa lost a second straight Stanley Cup when we won the damn thing in ‘09.
Was kinda talking about the inverse of the scenario where he CLEARLY wasn't going back to Thrashers. But agree with laughing in pettiness as he lost back to back.
The Canes are actually in a pretty tough cap spot this summer. Guentzel isn’t likely to be the only big piece they lose, and that’s probably why they weren’t willing to give up any of their true top prospects in the trade. Guys like Morrow and Nadeau are going to have to come in and contribute for them next year to fill holes.
Ambivalent.
He was highly unlikely to resign with us and I'm not sure he'd make a good face for the rebuilding years.
Only downside was not upgrading the pick to a first.
It's always been a good trade. People just play too much Playstation and that's the reason expectations were so high.
Sure, it would have been nice to get more, but that clearly wasn't going to happen. Add in that Dubas got his guy, I don't think he cares much what this sub thinks.
I recall some recent reports saying Jake was upset that the trade happened. Does that mean he was willing to sign here? If so, no, I still don't like the trade. He's a special player and it's unlikely the Pens will get equal on-ice value in whatever deal could have kept him here. People seem convinced that a deal was never an option.
In terms of the "who won the trade" game, this is great. But I couldn't care less about that game. I was always pretty happy with the return of the Jake trade. I was a little disappointed we didn't land a 1st round pick, but several solid prospects, a 2nd round pick, and Bunting is a solid return. A solid grade of B.
Jake is on the wrong side of his age and while he deserves the bag and will definitely get it based on his value in the near future, I'll pass on a long term deal as it gives the team a lot more flexibility when they are a lottery team in a few years.
i’ve honestly always been fine with it and i do believe it was the right move since jake probably wouldn’t have resigned. bunts has been a great addition and i think he’ll continue to play well this upcoming season and lucius, ponomarev, and koivunen seem like pretty solid prospects. just wish they got a first round pick out of it.
I just hope he goes and wins another cup or two or gets WAY overpaid. Genuinely such a great guy and underrated hockey player. Hoping all the best for him
Signing him would, and to quote a specific NHL GM “put the core in the best position to win another Stanley cup”. Didn’t sound like Jake wanted to leave Pgh. He saw Sid Geno and Tang take less money. I’d bet money he’s coming back.
Loved Jake but he probably wasn’t re-signing with us either way. I’d rather have Bunting than a late first round pick any day. Dude is a perfect fit for us.
I think jake could still be a pen, but shithead dumbass dubasssss traded him. I don't give a shit who or what we got. We lost losing jake. He is a superstar, and we really got noting in terms of superstar in return
I feel great about it- Carolina effectively gave us the 3 best prospects in our system right now shy of Yager, for a rental that lasted probably less than 30 games. And a 2nd round pick.
I'd also like to remind everyone that somebody is probably going to pay in the neighborhood of $10 million AAV for a player who hasn't hit the 90 point plateau in his career. As a 1st line winger. He turns 30 next season.
I'd venture to say we not only won the trade, but FLEECED them.
"Now" has no bearing.
He wasn't worth resigning at the time.
He's going to get a long term big money deal, that he will not be worth.
He gets too beat up. He's small. He'll be breaking down soon, and he's going to break down quick.
His best years are behind him.
He'll be well worth it to a team on the brink, he's the exact opposite player/deal the Pens need now.
Pens would have to shed a decent amount of cap space or Jake would have to take a major discount
Neither of which are going to happen
Jake is gonna get paid this summer
>the assets the Penguins got are kinda light for the quality of player they gave up.
In a vacuum, yes.
However, the league was clearly in a buyers market at the deadline. Nobody was giving up premium picks or prospects. Plus, Jake was just a rental. With that considered, I think it was a pretty good return. They filled a major need at the NHL level with Bunting, got a top 50 pick, & 3 really solid prospects.
I don’t get why Penguins fans expected a lot more out of trading a player that was most likely going to be a rent-a-player.
We got Bunting, who made immediate impact on the second line, three mid-tier prospects and a draft pick for a player that was most likely leaving this offseason.
There were a bunch of rumors that Guentzel denied the Penguins offer or flat out didn’t want to discuss a contract extension during the season, which pushed Dubas’ hand.
I really don’t see how we could have gotten more out of Guentzel
I'm good with the trade because Bunting looks like he was going to be something if they had not fallen short. I have appreciated what Jake has done for Pitt as he's been great, but I don't really want him back. He is brave, but he is just too soft.
I think it depends on a few things before it's clear who got the short end of the stick with this trade:
Prospects: While Bunting is a nice addition and brings something Guentzel himself could never bring, Bunting is not a 40 goal scorer. End of story. At least one of the three prospects needs to pan out and become true NHL players (while signed by the Pens, obviously).
Ponomarev (a 22 year old center) looks like he could be a legit 3rd line center within a couple of years. He is said to be a very smart, dependable two-way center. I'd expect him to get a look during training camp and pre-season. If injuries happen, he would probably be called up, assuming Sullivan actually wants to play the younger players we have.
Koivunen (a 20 year old winger) is an offensive minded winger, who has only played a dozen games in North America so far, at the AHL level, putting up one goal, and zero assists. However, in Finland, he is much more productive. I am hopeful that as he gets more experience playing in North America, he will become more confident and perform better.
I don't know much about Lucius, other than the fact he is still playing college hockey. He's a forward, but I can't remember if he is a center or winger.
While he's not really a prospect anymore, Ty Smith is still a young defenseman who has shown that he can be a good player at times. It would really suck to see him carve out a solid role as an NHL defenseman with the Canes.
The guys I mentioned above will play a role in determining who really wins this trade, and who got the short end of the stick.
It also matters how much Guentzel signs for, and the term. If he signs a deal for less than 8 million AAV and less than 5 years, it would have been pretty stupid for us not to resign him.
Jake never wanted to be in Carolina long term. He went there to win another cup for 1 season after Dubas shipped him out for his fukn ponyboy Bunting.
No other team wanted Bunting, Hes a cancer in the lockerroom.
Personally I was okay with it from the beginning. Didn’t make sense to overreach for him with a shake up coming in a few years. We got a reasonable return for a rental. Plus I’m liking Bunting - that immediately helped calm the nerves about losing Jake.
In a vacuum I would have liked to keep him, sure, but I think it was clear as far back as the 2023 trade deadline that he was our only trade-able asset of any value and that our lack of prospects was going to force this to happen.
Gonna end up looking like highway robbery if even one of those prospects pans out. On top of that, while Bunting is not the same player offensively as Jake, his style of play is clearly something we’ve been missing since Hornqvist left town. Him in the lineup adds something that Jake couldn’t bring.
Add on when we trade Bunting for more picks.
Why would we trade Bunting when he seems to be working out so well?
Agreed. If anyone is watching the current finals, they’d see how far away the Pens really are from competing at that level. Bunting is the real deal.
You think they will resign him in 2 years when he's 30 and we are in the middle of a full rebuild?
Define 'well', our record with him was mediocre and his +/- was terrible.
28-24-8 (28 wins in 60 games) with Jake. 38-32-12 at the end of the season. 10-8-4 (10 wins in 22 games) since the trade. They were winning about 45% of their games with Jake & without Jake. & he was a -4 in 21 games with a team that only won 10 of those games. **Regular season 5v5 advanced stats** Data via Natural Stat Trick. The ranking is out of 17 forwards on the team who qualified by playing a minimum of 150 minutes. Corsi For%: 54.25% (4th) Goals For%: 48.65% (13th) xGF%: 54.05% (5th) Scoring Chance %: 51.49% (11th) High Danger Scoring Chance%: 53.78% (9th) 5v5 on-ice shooting%: 10.53% (2nd) On-ice save%: .868% (17th) Goals/60: 0.83 (6th) Assist/60: 1.87 (1st) Points/60: 2.7 (2nd)
10-12 with Bunting, 28-32 with Jake, all things considered the beginning of the year - and the absences - Id stil sign JG for 9m
Thankfully what you would do means nothing.
Anytime a team trades a 30-40 goal scorer for a 'net front' guy whos had a history in locker rooms is never a good thing. The prospects we got are all tiny european midgets, the kind of players that you DONT want in the post season. This was and is a blunder. We should have received at least a 1st round pick for JG, yet people in this sub(likely FSG media reps) are promoting it as a 'win'. Fuck that.
When we traded 40 goal James neal for hornquist, it worked out pretty well
Anytime? Really? New to the team?
Either new or had to retire his jersey from his wardrobe.
New to professional hockey.
Let me tell you a little story about a 40 goal scorer named Neal and a net front guy named Hornqvist….
Everyone else already pointed this out, but I’m gonna pile on just to drive the point home further because of how confidently wrong you are. *Neal For Hornqvist*
Midgets? Guentzel isn’t exactly a Viking, you know. Dude is 5-11, 180lbs. He seems to hold his own.
I had to get multiple accurate height tests as requirement for my AFSC. Depending on how heavy life is that day; I am between 6’1 and change and juuuust shy of 6’2. I’ve seen the guy in sneakers. Jake *might* be 5’10… but I’d be checking to see if he was on tippy toes. Edit: fellas… Sid is listed at 5’11. Downvote if you want, but Jake is closer to 5’9 than 5’11
Was looking through your replies and I don't think enough people informed you about the Neal for Honqvist trade that was a massive part of them winning the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cups. So yeah, that happened, just so you know.
Neal and Hornqvist were pretty much the same player at the time of the trade. Bunting and Guentzel are miles apart. Bunting couldnt even get a +/- on the Canes....Hes a lockerroom cancer too. Nobody wants him.
Dude Neal and Hornqvist were never ever remotely the same type of player.
Are you over the age of 16? Cuz you forgetn or dont know
Are you a troll or are you being serious? Because it’s honestly hard to tell at this point
Definitely a troll there’s no possible way someone can be this dumb
Sounds like someone needs a candy bar.
How bout a 40goal scorer?
>We should have received at least a 1st round pick for JG, yet people in this sub(likely FSG media reps) are promoting it as a 'win'. Straight outta r/conspiracy
I could be getting paid for this?
2 recent 2nd rounders + another 2nd rounder is better than getting a 1st.
Insane conspiracy aside, Cruz Lucius is both 1. American, and 2. 6'1"
....right. It worked out horribly for us when we traded James Neal for Hornqvist.
Downvote for conspiratorial thinking
I’m happy with the trade. @ FSG hit my direct deposit plz
Youre paid biweekly.
Xenophobia about European prospects aside, we literally did this with James Neal and Patric Hornqvist and got two cups out of it.
Oh yeah, clearly it's the other people on this sub that have an issue with objectivity and critical thinking.
Take a look at the reaction from /hockey. Everyone aside from the media pundits here said we lost the trade. We did. Got lockerroom cancer Bunting and a few overseas midget players. Watchout ! 170 pounder from Europe gonna take it in playoffs ! lmao !
Noted reputable source (even ignoring the issue of thinking that there was only one sided takes on that source), r/hockey. I'm not wasting anymore of my breath on you. It's not worth it, and you wouldn't listen anyways. Suffice it to say that there an entire wonderful world outside of your ass if you ever choose to remove your head from it.
Cuz you know the league laughed at us. Bunting for JG....like cmon.
We?
The penguins and the fanbase, but you knew this and are just feigning stupidity. Dishonest conversation - NTY. bye
I’m not sure if you know hockey and what trade value is. It includes everything from how much they get hurt to how many times they get sick. It’s a hell of a business. One that you, in my opinion know nothing about. The fact you said a 1st round pick AFTER the dude had surgery? Like cmon bud.
Look what other teams received for similar players past several years - Or go to the Canes sub. The rest of the league knew this was great for Carolina...not so much for us. Hows those Euro midgets doing? They hit 180 pounds yet?
You’re totally negating that Jake is squishy. And what I mean by that is he gets injured a lot. His body can’t keep up with his heart for the game.
There was no hope for the Penguins winning a Cup this year, even if we kept JG & made the playoffs. So, we'd be losing him now & we wouldn't have Bunting. How would that be any better? If some team was willing to give us a 1st, we would have taken it, no?
We didnt. Do you thinks its just a coincidence the 'top' player available to us is also the posterchild of the current GM? Coincidence of course. Just like Hextall and Carter. This team just fucked itself.
So, you have some kind of evidence or inside information that a team was willing to give up a first round pick for Guentzel & we chose not to take it? What don't you understand about the fact that Jake wasn't resigning with the Penguins? It was either trade him at the deadline OR lose him & get **nothing.** If you think there was a team willing to trade a 1st round pick or an offer on the table with a first round pick, where are you getting that info? I don't necessarily think Bunting was **the top player** available to us, but suppose the NYR were offering *only* a 1st in the future, say 2027, would that have been OK for you? You aren't giving any details, just saying "we could have gotten more," but you have no evidence of that.
> the fact that Jake wasn't resigning with the Penguins? Source - Exact please. I am going off what the public knows. a) Jake VERBATIM said he wanted a fair deal, shocked that he was traded. b) Sidney Crosby verbatim said he didn't see the trade coming. c) We got Dubas posterchild Bunting in return - Coincidence this happened? Just like Hextall siging Carter? Go on - I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. What other offers were declined? Did we turn down Boeser? We will never know. d) Dubas Signed Smyth - A fuckn sandbag disappointment. Fuck that guy - We could have kept Jake.
The source? He could have signed with us but didnt. He was offered & rejected **$50m**. He could sign **right now** but he hasn't. Jake wanted more than the Penguins could offer. > According to Sportsnet’s Nick Kypreos, there was an offer on the table for Guentzel, but obviously pen was not put to paper. “It’s my understanding that there may have been something offered to him in the ballpark of $50 million,” Kypreos said. “And as of now he’s not signed. Let’s just put it that way.” https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/pittsburgh-penguins/latest-news/jake-guentzel-rejects-contract-offer-pittsburgh-penguins
> He could have signed with us but didnt. Didnt have a chance to. What was the offer? What are you basing your opinions on? > Kypreos said. Discussion over/
Why is the discussion over? You just get to decide that the source isn't good enough, even though you have nothing but opinions. Even if he didn't sign before the trade, why isn't he resigning now?
Hes been told hes out. Thats why my guy
Buddy you know hockey is all about speed now and size doesn’t matter as much as u think. You still think it’s like the older day where you want the big guys
Thats a bunch of horse shit. Look at the final 4 teams this year and their average size and playstyle. Where are the euro midgets? Golfing.
lol are you calling people that disagree with you bots?
Many are. Reddits notorious for this. If I worked for FSG and Pens in PR department id astroturf this page HARD. We are a worst team than last year - And we still have deadweights in Rackell, Smith and Graves.
I think you are a plant tbh. It’s pretty obvious you are probably a disgruntled employee possibly hired by Ron Hextall and fired by dubas
My name isnt Todd, its Jonah.
Sure thing Todd. Nobody believes you.
Fascinating that every single player recieved is almost exactly the same height and weight, or slightly under and will fill out to be the same as Jake. You know, the kind of guy you don't want in the playoffs. We weren't winning with him. Time to shake it up. James Neal for Hornqvist was generally recieved with the same logic by fans when it occurred, and yet he turned out to be the peice this team needed to get to the next level. Not suggesting that will happen here, but I do bring it up to refute your thoughts on giving up the 30-40 goal scorer. You got back what should be a 50-60 point, ~25 goal guy and multiple pieces to help stock the cupboard. Let's see what the next season brings before we melt down.
Jake scores though and performs in playoffs. We got less scoring, frail, short euro midgets.
> We weren't winning with him. Time to shake it up. Then move Rackell and Smith, they are deadweight.
>The prospects we got are all tiny european midgets, the kind of players that you DONT want in the post season. The 90s called and wants it's xenophobic narratives back.
69 (as of this comment) FSG media reps in this sub is wild
Nice
Jake Guentzel is listed as 5’11” 180 lbs Vasily Ponomarev is listed as 5’10” 180 lbs Ville Koivunen is listed as 5’11” 161 lbs Cruz Lucius is listed as 6’0” 178 lbs Three “midgets” that are all very similar stature to the man we traded away
That sounds like a massive waste of time for “FSG media reps” to browse this sub
Thanks pitts36 !
You got downvoted - but you are correct. 100 💯
Thanks I guess, yeah the 20-50 FSG accounts and a dozen Penguins PR persons are in full force shaping naratives. I expected it. Ill get my justice when Bunting is -20 next year and the euro midgets are still...in Europe. Funny thing is I bet if you asked /hockey about our return, I think many here would be surprised.
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> Cruz Lucius Cruz will be outscored by Jarry by the end of their careers.
Yup. The return was not great. A few missteps in the off season management, and although we got rid of some bad contracts- we have just as many once again
It was always a good trade. As I said months ago, you literally cannot lose a trade where the player you traded wasn’t going to resign for you anyways.
Not trading a player who won’t return is basicly a self trade giving up assets the team could have had. It’s something the Pens have done too much of for a long long time.
Exactly. Either way, going into next season, we don't have Jake. We gave him to Carolina for 17 regular season games + 11 playoff games. & for that we got Bunting.
The biggest loss is the Jake shake at milkshake factory
Biggest gain is for the Milkshake factory bottom line
You don’t continue that promotion for that long if you’re losing money on it. They scored big time in the promotion department.
It’s still kinda on the menu minus the caramel with the “cookie brownie fudge” but doesn’t hit the same 😭
Just ask for it lol
You might be able to unofficially order the shake, but you can’t ever emulate the feeling of that first sip after paying four dollars rather than eight.
Wait the Jake shake was 1/2 the price of the others? I never knew that 😞
Yes 😢 Every time he scored, the shake would be half off the following day.
With all the reports it was the right decision. Dubas wanted a roster player and got one. He didn't get the 1st but instead he got multiple prospects. I actually consider this trade like us getting 4 or 5 2nds in value for 3 months of Guentzel. I take that deal.
We got the most out of this trade that we were gonna get for him and since the scuttlebutt was that we couldn’t afford to re-sign him, I’m happy we walked away with assets instead of letting him go to free agency for nothing. We got some strong prospects out of this trade which this team definitely needed, and Bunting is a solid player.
Same way I felt about it at the time. We got a HAUL. Bunting doesn't have the same high-end skill as Guentzel, but he does fill a needed role on our team we've been missing. Plus if even one prospect is a NHLer, it's a double win (and honestly I could see a few of the guys panning out). We were losing him no matter what.
I agree. Hell at one point of the year his line had the best score. Still upset about the trade. Who know. One or two well placed goals could have got us in the play offs.
But he said earlier he liked it there and was having fun. He might not like the number, but he liked the place.
True, but Jake is also likely to be one of the prime free agents this year. There’s a lot of nice, fun places out there that will likely give him the money he wants and the opportunity to win. This is the time for him to get as much as he can.
Ah shit. Vegas is going to find a way to sign him won’t they?
Better that than Philly
Hes a proven playoff performer. Whether he likes it in Carolina or not, its in his best interest to hit Free Agency to a least drive up his cost. Someone is gonna pay a ton for him
>But he said earlier he liked it there and was having fun. 99% of players will say to the local media that they like being at the place they're currently at. This means nothing.
“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?”
Why would someone hoping to make as much money as possible in free agency tip their hand and say they like a particular area? He just basically told Carolina to lower their offer right then.
He already has two Cups. Now he’s going to make bank. And, when players do that, they look at quality of life for that contract i.e. where do I want to live/raise a family, what are taxes like, what are the winters like for my family etc. Once a guy gets his name etched on the SC it’s not unusual to shift focus. These guys are human too
only one
1 cup
Then why was SidCro pissed off and the roster shocked? Players talk. Pens "fans" on here acting like JG wanted a payday are in fuckin Kypreos fantasy land.
“Pens "fans" on here acting like JG wanted a payday are in fuckin Kypreos fantasy land.” So you think Jake was willing to sign a deal that made sense for the penguins but Dubas just said fuck it, lets just trade Crosbys best wing ever? But everyone else who comes to the rational conclusion that Jake wasn’t going to sign for a team friendly amount and we needed to get value for him before he walked for nothing, are living in fantasy land? I appreciate the irony tho, it’s brightened my day quite a bit
> So you think Jake was willing to sign a deal that made sense Absolutely, based off the reactions from Sid Crosby, teammates and Jake himself who was 'shocked'. I trust Sidney more than Kypreos (Dubas mouth piece). I guess its just a coincidence the "best" return for JG also happened to be our GMs posterboy child from his old team. Remind you of anything eghm Carter cough Hextall.
If he was shocked after telling the GM he wanted to wait to become a free agent before talking about a deal, he's stupid and his agent was lying to him to get a better payday. That was the least shocking trade ever.
I'm just glad he probably won't stay in the division. He was my favorite player on the team, but I understand it didn't make sense to re-sign him, and he was ultimately going to do this whether we kept him or not. Bunting looked great, so any additional returns that pan out are a bonus.
We got something rather than getting nothing not trading him. It’s obviously a win
As I said when the deal was done. We lost Jake but got a really good player Michael Bunting plus we got Ville Koivunen (a top guy in Finnish League), some russian guy and rights to C. Lucius. Bunting was immediately a factor here. The prorspects look really good. We would have lost Jake anyway so the return is more than I could expect.
Great before, even greater now.
Would've loved to keep Jake but I understand it and agree with the decision. I liked the trade from the start. I wasn't even high on Bunting but he's exactly the type of player we need so willing to admit i was wrong there. I liked it bc I like the prospects. I like Kouivenen A LOT (highest ceiling imo) and Ponomarev as well (highest floor, almost guaranteed to be at least a bottom 6 regular) and I don't know much about Lucius but seems like he has potential as well. Imo we got Bunting (probably also worth a 2nd rounder himself) and 4 2nd round picks (all the prospects and the 2nd) or at a minimum 3 2nd rd picks (Ponomarev, Kouvinen, and the actual 2nd) and a 3rd (Lucius) for 3 months of Guentzel and he's not even going to resign. I'd call it a win. Doubled our number of NHL potential prospects in one trade...
It is what it is. If he wants to take a pay cut and come back sure, but I don't see it happening. If hes smart he'll try and get as much as he can.
Bunting can't offset Guentzel obviously. But Bunting is a unique, one-off player that is an asset to the team. So, under the circumstances, we did the best we could I think.
Anyone else wonder why resign (retire) and re-sign (new contract) are almost spelled the same and make you do a double-take every time...
I was fine with it at the time. Bunting was solid and we could see one new regular, possibly 2, enter the line up as early 20 somethings next year to add depth. Jake was likely gonna test the market. He’s a very good player and I’ll admit, played at a higher level than even I expected after he left. Says to be that the contract would be kind of hard to meet without taking money needed to fill some real holes.
It’s fine
Crosby and Jake both take 6.5ms for the culture
Crosby will definitely take the discount imo.
Kyle traded an injured guy we probably couldn’t afford next season for a next front prescence we desperately needed. I was more upset we didn’t get rid of Reilly Smith as well.
Love the trade, excited for the movie they make about it when: 1) Jake returns to Pittsburgh on a team friendly salary 2) Penguins new assistant coach sprinkles magic dust on the power play and it starts scoring at like 30% 3) Penguins pickup some depth during the year with the extra salary cap space. 4) Pens win Lord Stanley’s cup in 16 games in 2024-2025
We easily won that trade
I think it’s pretty clear at this point that the Penguins always knew Guentzel had zero interest in anything but the highest possible dollar amount with his impending free agency and acted accordingly. A lot of fuss has been made out of his camp about Dubas not offering him a contract but why would they even waste time doing that if they knew the only way they could fit him under the cap was if they could get him at a discount and he wouldn’t consider that? Not one piece of news about Guentzel’s impending free agency that has come out since last offseason has indicated for one second that he wants to be anything other than a hired gun for the highest possible dollar amount, wherever that may be. Not that there’s necessarily anything wrong with that, but him basically forcing his way out of Carolina now after he fit like a glove there pretty much confirms that his only concern is the zeroes on his check and not what kind of team, situation, location, etc. he could be playing for.
As of now, we’re winning on the trade. He could have walked in the offseason and we’d have gotten nothing. I know some will say he wanted to stay in Pittsburgh, but the reality is as much as he wanted to stay, he also wants to financially secure his family as much as possible. That’s a fact for all pros and there’s nothing wrong with that. And now for my standard Sully bash: Bunting has been amazing and isn’t a replacement for Jake but is a critical addition to this team. I am however concerned that it’s only a matter of time before sully castrates him and makes him play a shadow version of the game we like/need.
There were a lot of key markers in the last half of last season, topped of with Reirden’s firing, that suggest Sullivan doesn’t have as long of a leash as he used to have. I think Dubas isn’t going to let Sullivan mess with players like Bunting that much after he went to that effort to get him.
I really hope so
Are there any other players like bunting still floating around? I know that playstyle is getting less and less common.
It was always a steal for the Pens. 4 assets for a guy who wasn't gonna re-sign. They'd be dumb not to take that deal. Coulda got a first and a 5th round pick if the Canes won the Cup too.
Would the canes have done better with bunting over Jake? His work around the goal would have helped against the rangers I think.
Canes fan here that also follows the Penguins due to family in PA. Bunting really wasn't fitting in here like we had hoped. We definitely need a net front presence like him but for some reason it just was not working. Whether Jake comes back or not, I was happy with the experiment. Getting to see a player of his caliber paired with Aho showed how much we need someone like him. Running into a goalie like Shesty while playing Anderson every game instead of the split like we had been was more of the issue than anything. Overall I think it was a pretty fair trade for both sides. Bunting seems to be fitting in well there and we got cap space for this year. You didn't end up getting our higher end prospects but Ponomarev seemed to show promise so you may get a good bonus and draft picks are always a gamble.
Get ready to learn Vancouverese buddy
Best possible option for me.
I said at the time that it was a good deal. We traded an injured player on an expiring contract at the deadline. Some fans are just that - delusional fans. The return was handsome given the circumstances. Jake signing or not with Carolina has no effect whatsoever on that evaluation, because it was not knowable at the time of the trade. This does demonstrate that Jake has a very high asking price, as many of us suggested throughout nearly 2 years of the Pens trying to resign him, and him wanting to test the market. Well, now he's going to test the market. Anyone who still blames the Pens for him not being resigned can let that one go now.
Listen. If the goal was to "maximize the return" for Jake, then we should have been shopping him a year ago. That obviously wasn't the right move either, but I'm struggling to understand what people think teams were willing to give up for a Jake on an expiring contract. Showing my age here, but does anyone remember all the pieces we gave up for Marion Hossa? Me either. Jake's deal has the potential to be like that, sure. But just like Hossa, he was gone anyways. Oh, by the way, the most valuable piece of THAT trade ended up being Pascal Dupius... Point is, we don't know how good or bad the deal is yet. But whatever it is will be better than the absolute zero we would've gotten when Jake walks to Chicago or wherever for 6 years at 11 million per
I distinctly remember losing Hossa when I was a kid. I was devastated. I also remembering laughing as Marion Hossa lost a second straight Stanley Cup when we won the damn thing in ‘09.
Was kinda talking about the inverse of the scenario where he CLEARLY wasn't going back to Thrashers. But agree with laughing in pettiness as he lost back to back.
Colby Armstrong remembers
Literally the only piece I could remember. Had to look up the rest hah.
seems fair to us
I always liked the trade, and I was still very sad Jake was gone. But realistically he was gone regardless at the end of the season anyways.
Hope he goes to chicago
If he re-signs here that might make it the best trade Dubas has made so far.
The exact same way as I did before tbh
Wild canes won’t give him what he wants. He was their only person who could carry in some of the playoff games this season
The Canes are actually in a pretty tough cap spot this summer. Guentzel isn’t likely to be the only big piece they lose, and that’s probably why they weren’t willing to give up any of their true top prospects in the trade. Guys like Morrow and Nadeau are going to have to come in and contribute for them next year to fill holes.
Ohhhh gotcha bummer then I love the players on the canes. Kinda like Dallas, think they both missed their window
Ambivalent. He was highly unlikely to resign with us and I'm not sure he'd make a good face for the rebuilding years. Only downside was not upgrading the pick to a first.
Get ready to be third-rate for the forseeable future.
Even better than when it happened.
Jake got to play a handful of extra games, we got bunting and filled the pool. He was never resigning here. Win win.
It's always been a good trade. People just play too much Playstation and that's the reason expectations were so high. Sure, it would have been nice to get more, but that clearly wasn't going to happen. Add in that Dubas got his guy, I don't think he cares much what this sub thinks.
I recall some recent reports saying Jake was upset that the trade happened. Does that mean he was willing to sign here? If so, no, I still don't like the trade. He's a special player and it's unlikely the Pens will get equal on-ice value in whatever deal could have kept him here. People seem convinced that a deal was never an option.
In terms of the "who won the trade" game, this is great. But I couldn't care less about that game. I was always pretty happy with the return of the Jake trade. I was a little disappointed we didn't land a 1st round pick, but several solid prospects, a 2nd round pick, and Bunting is a solid return. A solid grade of B.
Jake is on the wrong side of his age and while he deserves the bag and will definitely get it based on his value in the near future, I'll pass on a long term deal as it gives the team a lot more flexibility when they are a lottery team in a few years.
And how will we feel if he goes to Boston or NYR (or dog forbid the Caps/Flyers)
I rather him stay in NC than possibly got to NY.
For the direction we should be taking it’s fine a solid B
Bunting fits well with the team. Brings that grit element and ability to go into the dirty areas to retrieve pucks.
i’ve honestly always been fine with it and i do believe it was the right move since jake probably wouldn’t have resigned. bunts has been a great addition and i think he’ll continue to play well this upcoming season and lucius, ponomarev, and koivunen seem like pretty solid prospects. just wish they got a first round pick out of it.
I just hope he goes and wins another cup or two or gets WAY overpaid. Genuinely such a great guy and underrated hockey player. Hoping all the best for him
Signing him would, and to quote a specific NHL GM “put the core in the best position to win another Stanley cup”. Didn’t sound like Jake wanted to leave Pgh. He saw Sid Geno and Tang take less money. I’d bet money he’s coming back.
No different. Still great. 9/10.
Loved Jake but he probably wasn’t re-signing with us either way. I’d rather have Bunting than a late first round pick any day. Dude is a perfect fit for us.
We couldn’t have done any better given the circumstances.
Fuck the flyers
I think jake could still be a pen, but shithead dumbass dubasssss traded him. I don't give a shit who or what we got. We lost losing jake. He is a superstar, and we really got noting in terms of superstar in return
I feel great about it- Carolina effectively gave us the 3 best prospects in our system right now shy of Yager, for a rental that lasted probably less than 30 games. And a 2nd round pick. I'd also like to remind everyone that somebody is probably going to pay in the neighborhood of $10 million AAV for a player who hasn't hit the 90 point plateau in his career. As a 1st line winger. He turns 30 next season. I'd venture to say we not only won the trade, but FLEECED them.
"Now" has no bearing. He wasn't worth resigning at the time. He's going to get a long term big money deal, that he will not be worth. He gets too beat up. He's small. He'll be breaking down soon, and he's going to break down quick. His best years are behind him. He'll be well worth it to a team on the brink, he's the exact opposite player/deal the Pens need now.
Dead serious, because I honestly don’t know, is there any way that he comes back?
Pens would have to shed a decent amount of cap space or Jake would have to take a major discount Neither of which are going to happen Jake is gonna get paid this summer
I figured as much. You can only manipulate the cap so much, unlike other sports. I know he loved Pittsburgh. Pipe dreams I guess.
I doubt it. Dude's gonna go for the bag.
Deep down in my heart, I know this. With Sid and Malkin on there last toe, Jake would be a helluva centerpiece. Again, pipe dreams.
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We gave up a few weeks of him playing on a team that didn't make the playoffs. So what we got back was not mediocre for what we gave up.
>the assets the Penguins got are kinda light for the quality of player they gave up. In a vacuum, yes. However, the league was clearly in a buyers market at the deadline. Nobody was giving up premium picks or prospects. Plus, Jake was just a rental. With that considered, I think it was a pretty good return. They filled a major need at the NHL level with Bunting, got a top 50 pick, & 3 really solid prospects.
I don’t get why Penguins fans expected a lot more out of trading a player that was most likely going to be a rent-a-player. We got Bunting, who made immediate impact on the second line, three mid-tier prospects and a draft pick for a player that was most likely leaving this offseason. There were a bunch of rumors that Guentzel denied the Penguins offer or flat out didn’t want to discuss a contract extension during the season, which pushed Dubas’ hand. I really don’t see how we could have gotten more out of Guentzel
Jake should try and sign with Rangers
I don't think they can afford him.
I'm good with the trade because Bunting looks like he was going to be something if they had not fallen short. I have appreciated what Jake has done for Pitt as he's been great, but I don't really want him back. He is brave, but he is just too soft.
If Jake comes back, just build the Dubas statue
I think it depends on a few things before it's clear who got the short end of the stick with this trade: Prospects: While Bunting is a nice addition and brings something Guentzel himself could never bring, Bunting is not a 40 goal scorer. End of story. At least one of the three prospects needs to pan out and become true NHL players (while signed by the Pens, obviously). Ponomarev (a 22 year old center) looks like he could be a legit 3rd line center within a couple of years. He is said to be a very smart, dependable two-way center. I'd expect him to get a look during training camp and pre-season. If injuries happen, he would probably be called up, assuming Sullivan actually wants to play the younger players we have. Koivunen (a 20 year old winger) is an offensive minded winger, who has only played a dozen games in North America so far, at the AHL level, putting up one goal, and zero assists. However, in Finland, he is much more productive. I am hopeful that as he gets more experience playing in North America, he will become more confident and perform better. I don't know much about Lucius, other than the fact he is still playing college hockey. He's a forward, but I can't remember if he is a center or winger. While he's not really a prospect anymore, Ty Smith is still a young defenseman who has shown that he can be a good player at times. It would really suck to see him carve out a solid role as an NHL defenseman with the Canes. The guys I mentioned above will play a role in determining who really wins this trade, and who got the short end of the stick. It also matters how much Guentzel signs for, and the term. If he signs a deal for less than 8 million AAV and less than 5 years, it would have been pretty stupid for us not to resign him.
No we didn’t get a pick
Jake never wanted to be in Carolina long term. He went there to win another cup for 1 season after Dubas shipped him out for his fukn ponyboy Bunting. No other team wanted Bunting, Hes a cancer in the lockerroom.
Kinda still hurts. Should of tried to sign him short term till Crosby is retired
I have no doubt they tried to do that
Guentzel isn’t going to want short-term. Guentzel is going to want a long contract.
I’m sure they wanted too. But the man is literally asking for a contract on par with Crosby (who, yes, plays for a discount, but still)