The Vegas Golden Knights made a splash just days before the 2024 NHL trade deadline by acquiring standout defenseman Noah Hanifin from the Calgary Flames. The Golden Knights are also rumored to still be in on injured Pittsburgh Penguins star Jake Guentzel, but they're facing serious competition from a host of other contenders. That list includes the Carolina Hurricanes, who are actually viewed by some as the favorite to land Guentzel, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff.

Seravalli also named the Florida Panthers, New York Rangers and Vancouver Canucks as other suitors for Guentzel as the trade deadline approaches, though he threw cold water on the Panthers and Canucks' chances to get him. ESPN's Emily Kaplan named similar teams and mentioned the Hurricanes and Rangers as having “legitimate chances” to pull off a Guentzel rade.

Golden Knights trying to turn things around

The defending Stanley Cup champions have lost three games in a row and have 73 points on the season, but they still hold the top Western Conference Wild Card spot. Even so, they clearly are trying to upgrade to give themselves a better chance to repeat, with potentially more flexibility opening up if Alec Martinez goes on long-term IR.

The Noah Hanifin trade is one step of that plan, and now Vegas will try to pull off a Jake Guentzel trade as well. While the Penguins star hasn't played since mid-February due to an upper-body injury, he's on track to return to the ice soon. The 29-year-old has 52 points in 50 games and would provide a boost to any team that acquires him.

Hurricanes, others in the mix

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The Hurricanes are in second place in the Metropolitan Division with 78 points, six points back of the Rangers. It appears these two teams are duking it out over Jake Guentzel as this arms race heats up in the days leading up to the deadline.

As for the Panthers and Canucks, Seravalli says “unless something changes, belief is Florida and Vancouver have made strong push but don’t have goods to pull it off.” The Canucks reportedly have explored flipping Elias Lindholm to the Boston Bruins as part of a plan to land Guentzel.

With the NHL trade deadline just over 24 hours away, it's make-or-break time in the Jake Guentzel sweepstakes.