Christmas has come just a couple of days late for Jake Guentzel, but he isn’t complaining. The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed the forward to a
five-year extension worth $30M. Guentzel was scheduled to become a restricted
free agent this summer but will now be with the team at least through the
2023-24 season at a cap hit of $6M. He will become the team’s fourth
highest-paid forward behind only Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby and Phil Kessel.
At first blush the contract may seem steep because it vaults
Guentzel into the upper echelon of salaries in the league — only 61 forwards in
the entire NHL carry a $6M cap hit this season — but there is certainly reason to
believe that the third-round pick deserves every penny. Selected 77th overall
in 2013 out of the USHL, Guentzel then attended the University of
Nebraska-Omaha for three seasons, where he refined his game and started showing
his innate ability to perform in the most important moments. Leaving school
after three seasons to join the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Guentzel led
the AHL team in scoring during the playoffs with 14 points in 10 games.
The undersized but fearless forward eventually made his NHL debut
in the 2016-17 season and scored on his first shift (and his first shot). He
ended up as a key contributor down the stretch. Once again Guentzel came
through in the playoffs, leading the team with 13 goals en route to a Stanley
Cup. That performance was improved upon the following spring, when he recorded
21 points in 12 games only to be knocked out in the second round. The young
forward certainly cemented himself as one of the most important players on the
Penguins, if only for his postseason performances.
Still, there was obviously some work to do in the regular
season. Guentzel struggled at times during his first full year, registering
only 48 points in 82 games last season despite seeing time with future Hall of
Fame players. Any doubts the team had in him have been put to rest this year,
as the 24-year-old has 33 points through 36 games and is averaging more ice
time than even Kessel. GM Jim Rutherford explained exactly how the young forward
has developed over the last few years:
Jake established himself as an impact player for our team
from the beginning, especially during 2017 Stanley Cup playoffs. He has become
a core player on the team and we are thrilled to get Jake signed long-term with
the Penguins.
Despite only just coming off his entry-level contract,
Guentzel was going to be eligible for salary arbitration this summer and would
have had a good case for a huge raise. He also is much closer to unrestricted
free agency than most players signing their second contracts, meaning this deal
will actually buy out two unrestricted free agency seasons. At the pace he’s
going, those unrestricted free agent years would have been worth much more than
$6M, explaining how the Penguins came to the $30M number.
In fact, with the salary cap expected to rise again next
season and recent contracts like the one William Nylander signed setting the market, $6M actually
may be a bit of a bargain for the Penguins. Even so, it will almost surely
force them to make some tough decisions at other spots on the roster given that
they have nearly $80M tied up in 15 players for next year, including Justin Schultz’ $5.5M cap hit that is currently sitting on
long-term injured reserve. With Zach-Aston Reese, Juuso Riikola and Marcus Pettersson all still scheduled for restricted free
agency, there may not be any room to re-sign names like Derick Brassard or Casey DeSmith.
Regardless, the team now has a core player locked up long
term in Guentzel and will continue to find ways to build around him. If his
playoff performance continues, there’s no telling how valuable he could really
become.
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