Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel declined to delve into his pending unrestricted free agency on Saturday after his agent raised eyebrows about the uncertainty of impending negotiations.
"Jake Guentzel is in a great spot," his agent, Ben Hankinson, said on a radio show, according to The Athletic's Rob Rossi. "What's going to happen? I don't know. But I'm going to lean on conversations I've already had with (general manager) Kyle (Dubas), including in the summer, including conversations with Jake. I think the good thing is we'll all be on the same page.
"Could it get ugly? Yes, it could. Kyle has to make decisions, too - which way the team is going and the investment he's going to make with Jake. Is it the same direction? It's going to come down to how they play, and we'll put our heads together. All the things that go into trade deadlines, (Kyle) might look into what he can get for Jake or what it costs to sign him. There's a lot that will happen in two months, and I don't know the answers to that."
Guentzel was asked about his agent's take following Saturday's loss to the Buffalo Sabres.
"I mean, I'm not going to go too much into detail about it," he said. "I'm just trying to play, and we'll see what happens as we go."
Guentzel expressed his desire to stay in Pittsburgh in October. He was drafted by the Penguins in the third round of the 2013 draft and has gone on to produce 457 points in 491 games while helping the club win the Stanley Cup in 2017. The Nebraska native has been a staple on Sidney Crosby's wing for much of his career and would be one of the biggest names on the open market this summer if he doesn't sign an extension.
The Penguins are projected to have approximately $18 million in financial flexibility for next season, according to CapFriendly, but only have 13 players signed. Guentzel has earned a raise over the $6 million he's made annually since 2019, but Pittsburgh's superstars, including Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang, have made a habit of taking less than market value for the sake of the team.
Pittsburgh is 19-15-4 on the season so far, good for seventh in the ultra-competitive Metropolitan Division. The Penguins are currently two points back of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference after missing the playoffs for the first time since 2005-06 last season.
