3 ways Jake Guentzel helps the Carolina Hurricanes in their quest for the Stanley Cup
The Carolina Hurricanes struck gold when they added Jake Guentzel in a blockbuster trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night.
The Carolina Hurricanes found themselves a dynamic forward when they traded for Jake Guentzel in a trade that also saw them acquire Ty Smith. Guentzel was one of the hottest names in the rumor mill, and it was a foregone conclusion that a contending team would add him to their lineup in a blockbuster move.
Carolina was one of several teams linked to Guentzel along with the Detroit Red Wings (an organization whose general manager is fond of making such moves to bring in star players), the Vancouver Canucks, the New York Rangers, Florida Panthers, Vegas Golden Knights, and Colorado Avalanche.
However, a few of the teams listed above made some significant acquisitions, such as the Golden Knights adding Anthony Mantha and Noah Hanifin, the Panthers bringing in Vladimir Tarasenko, and the Avalanche acquiring a flurry of names that included Casey Mittelstadt, Sean Walker, and Yakov Trenin, among others.
This left Carolina as one of the few teams linked to Guentzel to make a big move, but the Canucks and Red Wings also could have had a say.
Carolina Hurricanes win Jake Guentzel sweepstakes despite competition
In January, the Canucks landed Elias Lindholm in what we now know was an ill-fated move. And with just seven points in 16 games with Vancouver, don’t be surprised if Lindholm is moved at or in the hours leading to the deadline, and there are plenty of reasons to believe Vancouver should move on. Therefore, it’s easy to see why the Canucks may have been interested in winning the Guentzel sweepstakes.
But then there were the Red Wings, who added Alex DeBrincat and Patrick Kane to their ranks following a few other memorable transactions. However, it was general manager Don Waddell and company who won the sweepstakes in the end. So how does Jake Guentzel help the Hurricanes, and will he take the team back to the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 2006?
Guentzel makes the Hurricanes a top-ten scoring team
The Hurricanes are fifth in goals allowed with 173 as goaltender Pyotr Kochetov has been lights out in most of his recent appearances. But Carolina hasn’t been as hot from a scoring standpoint, sitting at an above-average 13th in the league with 205 goals scored.
Their leading scorer, Sebastian Aho, has 65 points, 24 goals, and 41 assists on the year, and he’s the only one on the team with more points than Guentzel, who has 52 of them to go with 22 goals and 30 helpers. That said, Guentzel doesn’t just hold an edge in points but also in the latter two categories. And that was for a hockey team that is now 25th in the league with just 179 goals.
Guentzel is now playing for a team that is much better with the puck than the Pittsburgh Penguins have been in all situations. And his ability to consistently find open linemates or to locate adequate shooting lanes takes a team that is decent in scoring up another notch.
While Guentzel put up stellar statistics in Pittsburgh, you may be asking how we know he’s another Alex DeBrincat and not another Elias Lindholm. The second reason in this slideshow should calm those potential concerns if you have some.
Guentzel adds sound flexibility and fits right in with the lineup
Regardless of how well somebody plays for one organization, there are no guarantees they will be a good fit elsewhere. Whether they can’t catch on to a new system, if they don’t fit the style of play their new team possesses, or if they just aren’t ready to slide into a slightly different role, we see NHL teams make ill-fated moves every year.
The Hurricanes needed a reliable scorer, and they got one with Guentzel, something we have seen the most prominent sources out there say time and again. Some may claim that Guentzel was so successful in Pittsburgh because of Sidney Crosby’s presence, and while Sebastian Aho is not at Crosby’s level (few are), he’s still a great center who Guentzel should line up alongside without missing a beat.
However, there is still a chance Carolina chooses to line him up alongside someone like Jordan Staal and Seth Jarvis, creating what could be a dynamic top-six in Raleigh. Overall, it doesn’t matter who the Hurricanes line Guentzel up with; he’s flexible enough of a winger to provide a boost in production, considering what he’s done in Pittsburgh, even with a star player like Crosby.
Regardless of how flexible he is, the Hurricanes could immediately emulate what he did with Crosby during his days in Pittsburgh, and that would mean putting him next to Aho. It won’t be long until we see what they do with Guentzel once he’s cleared to play again.
Guentzel’s sneaky good defensive play should shine in Raleigh
When you read about Jake Guentzel, everyone will tell you how good he is when his team has possession of the puck. And while offense is what most of the hockey universe knows Guentzel for, let’s take a minute and talk about how he can help the Hurricanes when they don’t have the puck.
For one, Guentzel was sixth on the Penguins in defensive point shares at 1.6, second to Sidney Crosby among forwards. This shows just how much he’s contributed to the team winning games not only with his play on offense, but also what he had done when Pittsburgh didn’t have the puck.
Carolina also isn’t the most physical hockey team, but Guentzel, despite logging just 36 hits at the time of his injury, finished at least one check per game in the past. This is something the Hurricanes will need as “playoff hockey” heats up not in April, but during those tight races in March.
Guentzel will engage in puck battles if he can’t outright take it away (106 takeaways dating back to the 2021-22 season and just over a half-takeaway per game). Therefore, the Hurricanes didn’t just get a good player to help them score, as Guentzel has more than shown he’s no liability on defense.
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(Statistics provided by Hockey-Reference)