A deep group of playoff contenders have Pittsburgh Penguins star Jake Guentzel on their radars leading up to the trade deadline.
The Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks, Edmonton Oilers, Carolina Hurricanes, and Florida Panthers are among the teams that have expressed interest in the pending unrestricted free agent, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman.
Guentzel would be arguably the biggest name available for this year's trade season, but the Penguins haven't made it clear if he's on the block. General manager Kyle Dubas is reportedly listening to trade offers for all non-core players as Pittsburgh fights for a playoff spot. The club is nine points back of both a wild-card and divisional seed with 28 games remaining.
Dubas shut down rumors involving Guentzel in January, saying all trade talk was "pure speculation."
Guentzel was sidelined for up to four weeks on Feb. 15 with an upper-body injury, halting a terrific season in which he's racked up 52 points in 50 games on Pittsburgh's top line. The 29-year-old is a two-time 40-goal scorer and has 58 points in 58 career playoff contests to go with a Stanley Cup in 2017.
He currently carries a $6-million cap hit and is expected to land a notable raise on his next deal.
The trade deadline is March 8.
