The Carolina Hurricanes made the biggest splash of the NHL trade deadline, acquiring Jake Guentzel from the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Guentzel had spent his entire career with the Penguins, winning a Stanley Cup with the team in 2017. Over parts of eight seasons in Pittsburgh, the forward managed 466 points across 503 games.
In order to acquire Guentzel, the Hurricanes sent the Penguins a large package of players and picks. Pittsburgh acquired Michael Bunting, Vasily Ponomarev, Ville Koivunen, Cruz Lucius and two conditional draft picks in exchange for Guentzel and defenseman Ty Smith.
While he's still early into his tenure with Carolina, let's look at three reasons why Jake Guentzel is a perfect fit for the Hurricanes.
Increased talent in top-six
The Hurricanes already had a well-rounded forward group, headlined by Sebastian Aho, Andrei Svechnikov, Martin Necas, Seth Jarvis and Teuvo Teravainen. However, at times over the last few years, Carolina has struggled to bury their chances.
Looking at their playoff exit last year, one of their biggest issues was scoring. They outplayed the Florida Panthers through a lot of their series, but just couldn't capitalize. Plus, we saw a few players really counted on to have to carry the bulk of the offense.
However, after adding Guentzel, along with Evgeny Kuznetsov, the Hurricanes have a more dangerous top-six than ever. They have been able to roll with a forward line of Guentzel-Aho-Jarvis, with the trio looking great together in limited action. So far, Guentzel has managed 12 points in eight games with Carolina.
While the Hurricanes have a quality group of forwards at the top of the lineup, they were arguably lacking true game-breaking talent. With Guentzel, though, the team has added player who's already proven a difference-maker. The fit has been great so far, and all signs point to Guentzel helping to solve Carolina's scoring issues.
Reasonable cost to acquire
While the Hurricanes paid a lot for Guentzel, it was still a worthwhile move. Michael Bunting was a quality roster player with term remaining on his contract. However, Guentzel acts as a major upgrade in the same position on the left wing. Comparing player to player, Guentzel and Bunting are just on two different levels.
Vasily Ponomarev, a former second-round pick, has posted strong numbers in the AHL thus far. This season, Ponomarev managed 29 points in 39 games with the Chicago Wolves. While he looks like a good bet to be an NHL roster player, though, his offensive upside likely caps out around that of a middle-six center.
Meanwhile, Ville Koivunen's had a bit of a breakout year in Finland's top league, scoring 22 goals and 56 points in 59 games. His numbers have been great, but with only a single year of really high-end production, we have yet to see how his game will translate to North America in an extended stretch.
Also included in the trade was Cruz Lucius, a 2022 fourth-round pick. While Lucius has been a point-per-game player in the NCAA, he hasn't made the jump to professional hockey yet, and his production has stagnated compared to last season.
While these prospects have a shot to play in the NHL, the odds that any of them reach Guentzel's level of NHL success remains quite low. Then with the draft picks they gave up, the Hurricanes only lose their first-round pick this year (rather than a second-round pick) if Carolina reaches the Stanley Cup Final. At that point, the Hurricanes' pick would come at either 31st or 32nd—and if Carolina can reach the Cup Final, the trade would be viewed as a major success anyway.
Jake Guentzel could be Carolina's missing piece
Over the last half-decade, the Hurricanes have taken a massive leap under Rod Brind'Amour. They'll reach the playoffs for a sixth straight year and still have a shot at a fourth straight Division title.
However, they've struggled to get over the hump to this point in the postseason. They've been able to win playoffs rounds, but their best result in the current era came last year when they were swept in the Conference Final.
Despite Carolina being in their window to contend, though, they've sometimes balked at a big addition. They've frequently added major pieces over the offseason, but at times it's been clear they didn't take a much-needed big swing. Timo Meier is an example of that dynamic, Carolina missing out on acquiring the winger before he went to New Jersey instead.
With Guentzel, though, the Hurricanes arguably made the most impactful addition of any team at the deadline. Heading into the postseason, the team is in a better spot to contend than ever.
Plus, there's also the chance Guentzel re-signs with the Hurricanes. A pending unrestricted free agent, Guentzel could be a long-term solution in the top-six. The Hurricanes are poised to contend for the forseeable future, and extending the winger provides them best chance to raise the Stanley Cup.
Entering the postseason, Guentzel could end up being the piece Carolina needed to finally get over the hump.
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