Trade Grades: Jake Guentzel To Carolina

Trade Grades: Jake Guentzel To Carolina

Jake Guentzel finally got moved and he’s on his way to the Hurricanes. Let’s not waste any time and get to the trade grades. Which team got the upper hand?

Carolina Hurricanes: Grade A+

This is a grand slam deal for Carolina. Don Waddell was cooking on this one. It’s everything that the Hurricanes needed. A guy who can score goals and be a perfect compliment to Sebastian Aho. Carolina also has a ton of impending free agents and should have a pretty good chance at retaining Guentzel.

This is a real game changer for the Canes. Guentzel, 29, has 52 points in 50 games for Pittsburgh this season. He’s a two time 40 goal scorer with a past history of performing in the playoffs. It’s a perfect fit in every sense of the word.

The acquisition cost also seems incredibly low. It’s basically a second round pick and a couple of mid tier prospects. None of them are ranked inside the top five of their farm system. When you consider all of that, it’s really a no brainer.

Pittsburgh Penguins: Grade F

Kyle Dubas strikes again. What more do you even need to say? Does Dubas understand that he could have signed Michael Bunting in the offseason? When you look at the package of picks and prospects they got back, Bunting is a main piece of this trade. That’s a total joke.

The return here feels inexcusable. Not one of these prospects ranked inside the top six for Carolina. They’re all mid-tier depth pieces and odds are they never turn into real difference-makers. I don’t even know what to say because it’s laughable. They couldn’t even get a real first round pick. The Flyers got one for Sean Walker and the Kings dumped him for nothing. The Canadiens got one for Sean Monahan and nobody wanted him two years ago. To not get one for Guentzel is absurd.

I don’t understand how Dubas keeps being allowed to tank teams but here we are.

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