The Tampa Bay Lightning made a splash by signing winger Jake Guentzel to a seven-year deal worth $9 million per season, and general manager Julien BriseBois explained why he is the “perfect” addition for the team.

“Highly competitive. High hockey IQ. High level of skill,” Julien BriseBois said of Jake Guentzel, via Chris Johnston of The Athletic. “Makes plays. Competes all over the ice. Has an ability to finish. Big game player. He's a Bolt who happened to not have been playing for (us).”

BriseBois made some difficult decisions over the last week or so, and one of them was the decision to let Steven Stamkos walk to the Nashville Predators in free agency and sign Jake Guentzel. Steven Stamkos is a Lightning legend, and it was no doubt an emotional day for the franchise and fans to see him leave.

Ultimately, BriseBois believes that Guentzel, who is younger than Stamkos, is a better fit for the Lightning to make the team competitive in the Eastern Conference, which should continue to be competitive with everyone trying to take down the Florida Panthers.

The Lightning once were that team that everyone was trying to take down, but now they have to make moves to try to keep up with the Panthers. Other moves included trading to get Ryan McDonagh back from the Nashville Predators and trading Mikhail Sergachev to the Utah Hockey Club. BriseBois definitely remade the team a bit over the last week or so, and he hopes that there are positive results next season that have the Lightning back up the standings a bit and in contention for the Stanley Cup.

Who are the Lightning getting with Jake Guentzel?

Guentzel spent the majority of his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where he won a Stanley Cup in his first season in 2016-17. After that, Guentzel became a very productive player for Pittsburgh, putting up 76 points in 2018-19, according to NHL.com. That was when he essentially became the point-per-game player that we know him as today.

The Penguins held onto Guentzel for a long time, and he had many productive seasons with them, until they ultimately decided that they needed to trade him on an expiring contract this past season. The Carolina Hurricanes acquired him from the Penguins, and he put up 25 points in 17 games in the regular season, according to NHL.com. He had a good playoff run as well, with nine points in 11 games.

It looked like the Hurricanes might be able to retain Guentzel in free agency, but ultimately he decided that the Lightning were the right team for him. Carolina traded his rights to Tampa Bay, which allowed BriseBois to compete an extension with Guentzel before the free agency window opened.

It will be interesting to see how Guentzel fits with players like Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point in Tampa Bay. That will be the trio of forwards that do the heavy lifting for Tampa Bay. Now, BriseBois' attention likely turns to getting an extension done with defenseman Victor Hedman to wrap up business this summer.