The Tampa Bay Lightning were eliminated in heartbreaking fashion by the Montreal Canadiens in Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs on Sunday night, but that was not because of the performance of Jake Guentzel.
Along with Brandon Hagel (eight points), Guentzel was Tampa Bay’s most productive player throughout the series, dangerous whenever he was on the ice. It was just a continuation of what he’s done since arriving, validating the Lightning’s bold decision to walk away from longtime captain Steven Stamkos and instead sign him in the 2024 offseason.
On the flip side, his play and production have also left many wondering why the Pittsburgh Penguins didn’t re-sign him in the first place, a topic former NHLer, now analyst, Paul Bissonnette discussed on a recent Spittin’ Chiclets podcast episode.
“I’ll never understand why Pitt didn’t sign him. I’ll keep saying it—he’s automatic in the playoffs. I don’t know if they were worried about regression as he gets older, but he’s just one of those players who has a knack. He’s always in the right place, he’s not afraid to go to the hard areas. He’s just a ******* gamer. I love Jake the Snake,”
The 31-year-old tallied eight points (two goals, six assists) in the seven-game series, following up a career-best 88-point regular season (38 goals, 50 assists).
The Jake Guentzel Trade
Guentzel was, of course, traded to Carolina at the 2024 deadline for a package of Michael Bunting, Vasily Ponomarev, Ville Koivunen, Cruz Lucius, a conditional first-round pick, and a conditional fifth-round pick. After finishing the season with the Hurricanes, he signed a seven-year, $63 million deal with the Lightning.
It’s difficult to fully evaluate the move by GM Kyle Dubas at this point, given that much of the return was future-focused, with Koivunen and eventual draft pick Harrison Brunicke standing out as the key pieces. That said, a team with an aging core led by Sidney Crosby certainly could have benefited from keeping a star winger he had tremendous chemistry with.
They especially could have used Guentzel’s scoring touch and ability to deliver in big moments during what could have been one of their final real shots with Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang still around this postseason. Instead, they were, for the most part, stymied by the Philadelphia Flyers and are already left looking back at what could have been their last dance with this core.
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