Penguins trade Guentzel to Hurricanes
The Pittsburgh Penguins traded winger Jake Guentzel and defenseman Ty Smith to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Michael Bunting, conditional first- and fifth-round picks in 2024, and prospects Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev, and Cruz Lucius, the teams announced.
If Carolina fails to make the 2024 Stanley Cup Final, Pittsburgh won't receive the first-rounder, instead getting a 2024 second-round pick originally belonging to the Philadelphia Flyers. If the Hurricanes don't win the Stanley Cup this year, the Penguins also won't receive the fifth-round pick.
The Penguins are also retaining 25% of Guentzel's $6-million cap hit.
Guentzel, a two-time 40-goal-scorer, was considered the best player available ahead of Friday's 3 p.m. ET deadline.
"The decision to trade Guentzel was one of the most difficult decisions that I have had to make in my time in management," Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas said in a statement. "In my first season with the Penguins, it has become quite clear why Jake means so much to his teammates, all Penguins staff, and the city of Pittsburgh."
The 29-year-old is a pending unrestricted free agent. The Hurricanes hadn't previously targeted high-profile rentals under their current regime led by general manager Don Waddell.
Guentzel has registered 22 goals and 30 assists in 50 games this season. He's also proven to be a clutch playoff performer, as he's produced 34 goals and 24 assists in 58 career postseason contests and helped Pittsburgh win the Stanley Cup in 2017. The Omaha, Nebraska, native had spent his entire eight-year career in the Steel City after the Penguins drafted him in the third round in 2013.
His nose for the net could be particularly helpful for a Hurricanes club whose downfall in recent postseasons has been a lack of scoring. Carolina mustered just six goals during a four-game sweep at the hands of the Florida Panthers in last year's Eastern Conference Final.
Guentzel's analytic profile features strong offensive metrics but poor defensive results:
He projects to slot in at left wing on either of the team's top two lines. Guentzel will also help improve an already strong power play that ranked third in the league entering Thursday.
Bunting, meanwhile, will be reunited with a familiar face in Dubas, who drafted him with the OHL's Soo Greyhounds and signed him as a UFA with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
The Hurricanes inked Bunting to a three-year, $13.5-million contract as a free agent this past offseason. The fit didn't quite pan out, as Bunting has registered just 13 goals in 60 games this season after producing 23 in each of the previous two campaigns. He was notably a Calder Trophy finalist with the Maple Leafs in 2022 when he racked up a career-high 63 points.
Bunting could get a chance to take Guentzel's spot on Pittsburgh's top line alongside Sidney Crosby.
Ponomarev, a 5-foot-10 center, was a second-round pick by the Hurricanes in the 2020 draft. The 21-year-old Russian has registered 29 points in 39 games with the AHL's Chicago Wolves this season.
Koivunen, a 6-foot forward, has been excellent for Karpat in Finland's top professional league this season, tallying 55 points in 57 contests. He represented Finland at the 2022 and 2023 world juniors. Carolina selected him in the second round in 2021.
Lucius, the brother of Winnipeg Jets first-rounder, Chaz, is in his sophomore year at the University of Wisconsin, where the 19-year-old has tallied 31 points in 32 games for the Badgers. The 6-foot winger was a fourth-round pick by the Canes in 2022, but his outlook has been on the rise ever since.
Smith, meanwhile, will give the Hurricanes some added defensive depth. A first-round pick by the New Jersey Devils in 2018, he's recorded 47 points in 123 career NHL games. The 5-foot-11 blue-liner has spent all of 2023-24 with the AHL's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, producing nine goals and 23 assists in 51 contests.