The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded star winger Jake Guentzel and defenseman Ty Smith to the Carolina Hurricanes in a massive blockbuster deal. In the trade, the Penguins acquired forwards Michael Bunting, Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev, Cruz Lucius, a conditional 2024 first-round pick and a conditional 2024 fifth-round pick.
The Hurricanes will send a 2024 first-round pick to the Penguins if Carolina makes it to the Stanley Cup Final. It will become a 2024 second-round pick if the Hurricanes don't reach the Stanley Cup Final. The Penguins will receive an additional 2024 fifth-round pick if Carolina wins the Stanley Cup.
The Penguins will retain 25% of Guentzel's salary.
Guentzel had spent his entire eight-year career with the Penguins after the franchise selected him with a third-round pick in the 2013 NHL Draft. He is slated to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The Penguins forward has registered 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) in 50 games this season. Guentzel has been out of the lineup since Feb. 14 with an upper-body injury but recently begun practicing with Pittsburgh prior to the trade.
Guentzel has tallied 219 goals and 247 assists during his professional career thus far. His best season came in 2021-22, when he registered 84 points (40 goals, 44 assists). Guentzel has scored at least 20 goals in all but one season in his career.
The Penguins were aiming to make a Stanley Cup run this season. After all, the team traded for reigning Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson last August to help bolster their blue line, but have struggled at times this season.
Pittsburgh currently sits eight points outside of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, so the Penguins decided to begin building toward their future by shipping Guentzel out of town.
