Jake Guentzel addresses departure from Penguins: 'My intention was to stay'

There was one obvious reason that 17,913 fans piled into PPG Paints Arena on Tuesday night as the Carolina Hurricanes visited the struggling Pittsburgh Penguins.

That was to see former winger Jake Guentzel make his inaugural visit to Pittsburgh in an opponent’s sweater after the Penguins traded him to Carolina.

The Hurricanes suffered a 4-1 loss, and afterward, Guentzel, a veteran of eight seasons with the Penguins and Stanley Cup champion with the club in 2017, was made available to reporters, where he addressed the circumstances of his departure.

“My intention was to stay, but they just thought there was a better direction to go a different way,” he said. “It’s out of my hands, so it’s not my choice.”

Guentzel, in the final season of a five-year, $30 million deal signed with the Penguins in 2018, is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

Guentzel also fielded a question postgame about a potential reunion with the Penguins.

“I don’t know. That’s, I don’t know,” he said. “We’ll just see how this year goes. I really like it in Carolina.”

Given the circumstances of Tuesday evening, Jordan Staal’s career beginnings with the Penguins were probably, at best, an afterthought for the fans in attendance.

Staal, now 35 years old and Carolina’s captain, was drafted second overall by the Penguins in 2006 and played his first six NHL seasons in Pittsburgh, winning the Stanley Cup in 2009.

During a first-period stoppage in play, the PPG Paints Arena video board aired a tribute to Guentzel, who served as a highly productive linemate to Sidney Crosby for the majority of his career in Pittsburgh.

Forever a Stanley Cup Champion and Penguins legend.

Thanks for the memories, Jake. Stay cool. Never change. ???? pic.twitter.com/bmTEL4zsmp

— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) March 26, 2024

Out of anybody in the building, Staal probably related to the experience the most, himself being beloved in Pittsburgh before becoming the centerpiece of a major trade out of town in the summer of 2012.

“Heck of a player for this team for a while and has had some huge moments for this organization, so it’s really cool to watch that video,” Staal said. “We’re happy to have him on our squad. He’s an amazing player, so you have similar emotions. Just a great organization, great memories and I’m sure Guentzel feels the same way.”

Guentzel, who evolved from a third-round draft pick (2013, No. 77 overall) to one of the most prolific scorers in Penguins franchise history, appreciated the gesture and ovation from fans.

“It’s special to be back here where you kind of grew up,” he said. “Lots of good memories in this rink, building and city. … You look back on all the memories you had here. (The video is) just a cool little touch that they do. It’s pretty cool.”

Ultimately, Guentzel had a quiet first game against the Penguins.

He skated for 21 minutes, 6 seconds and recorded six shots without any points, a rare result in his brief career with Carolina. In eight previous games after arriving in Raleigh, he’s scored a pair of goals with 10 assists.

“I think every one of us in here was probably wanting to keep him off the scoreboard as best as we could,” said goalie Alex Nedeljkovic, who made 38 saves on 39 shots, including all six of Guentzel’s, picking up the win Tuesday.

Still, Guentzel has largely impressed — and even exceeded expectations of— his new coach, Carolina’s Rod Brind’Amour.

“He’s a better player than I probably thought he was, to be quite honest,” Brind’Amour said. “I knew he was a great player, but there’s just the little things that you don’t get to see as a coach of another team. Then you get him, you watch him now on the little details, he’s just a real talented player.”

Guentzel quickly has slid onto the Hurricanes’ top line, skating at left wing next to alternate captain and center Sebastian Aho as well as Seth Jarvis.

To start, Brind’Amour had deployed Guentzel on the second line with fellow recent Hurricanes addition Evgeny Kuztensov, a well-known former Penguins antagonist from his years as a Washington Capital.

Guentzel has rolled with the punches, finding success with whomever the Hurricanes have played him.

“The overall hockey sense is just so high,” Brind’Amour said. “You can throw him with whoever, and I think he would fit in and help whoever. He’s the kind of player that makes other players better, too. I think that’s something that was a bit overlooked. We’ve put him with good players, but he’s making them better, too.”

Whether Guentzel ever was chagrined at potential whispers regarding his ability to produce when not benefiting from the presence of a generational talent such as Crosby as a linemate is unknown.

But to his credit, by virtue of the cold, hard numbers he has put up, Guentzel has quieted any such rumors about his game that might have followed him to Carolina.

“You watch his game, he’s tenacious on the puck,” Staal said. “He’s involved in puck pressure and really just has got a great work ethic. He’s got the skill and all that to boot. First and foremost, you can tell he’s got the speed and is hard on the forecheck. That’s, obviously, been our identity for awhile, being a forchecking team. You can tell he’s fitting in pretty well.”