Should The Penguins Trade Jake Guentzel?
Bagdonas recently did a post about the Canucks having strong interest in Jake Guentzel. It sure sounds like the stud forward could be on the block as the Penguins find themselves at a serious crossroads point.
Should the Penguins actually trade Guenztel? It’s not exactly an easy call on what to do here.
Guenztel, 29, is in the prime of his career and has an expiring cap hit of $6 million. It’s going to cost significantly more than that to re-sign him. Is that really the road the Penguins want to go down? The road of adding another aging player to the mix? It’s already the oldest team in the NHL. Is adding another mega contract to a core on its last legs the smartest move?
Sometimes the best thing a flower can do is die. At some point, waving the white flag becomes the better alternative. This Penguins team isn’t going anywhere. Guentzel is the best asset you have. What if you lose him for nothing? This team also has no prospect depth. Wouldn’t it be smart to cash in this asset so that you can actually bring in some young talent?
At the same token, Sidney Crosby is still playing out of his mind. Don’t you owe it to Sid to keep trying as long as he’s playing like this? If you trade Guentzel what’s the point? Crosby saved the franchise. I just can’t imagine telling Crosby that you traded Guentzel. Good luck with that. He might punch Kyle Dubas in the face right after and might be justified in doing so.
The crazy thing is the Penguins couldn’t look more terrible and are still in the playoff mix. Pittsburgh is five points out of the last wildcard spot with four games in hand. They’re also only ahead of Columbus in the Metro.
I don’t envy Dubas having to make this call. It feels like a lose-lose regardless of what he does. Yeah… good luck with all this! But if I’m a contender, I want Jake Guentzel. No question about that.
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