Trade Jake Guentzel as a low-value rental? That’d be idiocy!
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35 Comments
Unless Jake has explicitly stated that he'll resign back here after whatever run with team hes rented to then maybe dont trade him for rental payback.
You are advocating for keeping him for the relainder of THIS season then losing him for zero return.
Trading Jake feels like it would be a disaster for this team.
This guy wants to get rid of Jarry and add goaltending to the list of the Penguins woes. What a genius.
No reason to keep him for two month. Get a Yager or Pickering level of prospect, and try to sign him during the offseason if the price is right. How else could you stack your prospect system if you do not trade a rental, when you are missing playoffs
The penguins franchise is quickly turning into the pirates franchise !! In terms of incompetence. I actually see the pirates having a really bright future ahead tbh. Trading him for a rental makes absolutely no sense!
Jake not signing most likely has to do with him wanting another shot at winning the cup. He probably doesn't see the Pens winning again during his playing career… so why would he sign here? The best thing for the Pens would be a sign and trade. He might do that before the trade deadline to make sure he gets traded but would he do it after the season when he could leave as a free agent? Probably not. The problem is players don't want to sign with teams they feel like have no chance of winning. I see the same issue with Sid. Will Sid re-sign if he doesn't feel like he has another chance at a cup? Maybe if he only wants to play a couple of more years so he can play in the Olympics one last time but probably not if he wants to play another five seasons.
FFS.
Let’s just rename the team the “Pittsburgh Crosbys.”
Any managerial/roster moves from here on out that end with “……to keep Sid happy” or “…..it’s what we think Sid wants” need to be immediately flushed dahn the terlet.
And don’t give me that “We are a locker room FAM-I-LY” crap…..call Sister Sledge and have them GM the Pens then.
Sid got 71 & 58. He got his 3 Amigos until death………
Enough is enough.
Unless he resigns in the offseason!
oh god is this team bout to implode?
Jake is gonna get paid big for his next contract, and rightly so. Why would a non playoff team pay him around 9 mil per, makes no sense for pitt or Jake. Gonna miss him, but it's the right thing
DK, you said they'd never trade Jake!
They need to get something for him. You cant resign him for what hes going to think hes worth. He scores goals, sure, but so would anyone in this comment section if they played alongside sid. Chris Kunitz went from a decent grinder to playing for team Canada solely because he got to play with sid. Connor sheary did great beside sid then was just okay. Guentzel is a cool guy or whatever but theres not a whole lot to his game that makes me want him as the penguins 'best player' after crosby retires. Hes going to want roughly 10 mil for 8 years. Id hate to see Guentzel at 35 taking up 10 mil of cap space with no one to play with
I have no idea what it is so hard to understand that Jake Guentzel doesn't want to re-sign for the next seven (7!) years of his life and the remainder of his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins … a non-playoff team turning into a lottery team. So there is no reason to keep Guentzel for 20 more games this season then let him leave on July 1 for nothing. That is what would actually be idiocy.
You described the game perfectly- “September level”
Man I really thought he would be the next captain when Sid retires. But I forgot about the business.
Since he doesn’t want to sign here, we have to trade him. You can’t lose him for nothing. I think we overestimate his value. He is not a McDavid, Matthews, or Mackinnon. Beloved in Pittsburgh, on another team he is just another player. Even if he did sign here, he wants too much money and is not the type of player you build your post-Crosby team around.
"Just sign him to an extension" "Re-sign him in the offseason". Ya'll ever think that maybe, just maybe, he has no interest in staying? Pens aren't making the playoffs, nor will they be a contender during any contract that Jake signs. We all know it.
Would you rather get 7 years at $8 million on a team who won't have a chance of a Cup at all, or 7 years at $10 million on a team that will be a contender for most of that time?
This fanbase is delusional. The window is closed and nailed shut, Jake is gone, and we're looking at hard times for awhile.
couldn't disagree with you more DK, but still enjoy hearing your opinion.
Idiocy? Oh the drama! Look…it’s sad that Jake is being traded. But Idiocy? No, this is just what happens when you perpetually fail as a team, see diminishing results season after season, all on a stagnant team built around an old unmovable roster. A roster that is locked in because of some misplaced or other feelings of eternal allegiance to players who once were champions, and people don’t want to accept they won’t be that again. You know why Sid didn’t want to talk and seemed distant? It’s because he blames himself, because that’s the consummate player and person he is. It’s not because he’s mad they are trading Jake like you are. He’s been in the game long enough to know the business side of it. He’s mad because it came to this and he couldn’t do more to stop it. He tried obviously, as his season play fully supports, but the team let down Jake. It wasn’t Sid’s fault.
Idiocy was locking up this core when they did knowing full well this might be the result. Idiocy is the idea that they should trade everyone and anyone else except A, B, C, D and E, and yet somehow get younger and better, and anything worthwhile in return to use that towards YET ANOTHER retooling. Idiocy is thinking that moving Rakell or Smith or even Jarry is going to get them anything other than more borderline, middle of the pack retreads and long shots who may also not fit in for another season of meh hockey. Idiocy is believing any competent 2nd line is capable when built around what will be a 38-year old former “I am score”. Idiocy is expecting Dubas – who was brought in to change things for the better – is going to sit pat while things simply play themselves out to an inevitable end while continuing to resign Sid friends into perpetuity because some players shouldn’t be moved because of hurt feelings and nostalgia. If you want to call trading Guentzel idiocy, then fine. But I’d take that over insanity, which is what plugging him back in there to a huge 6 or 7 year deal, rearranging the deck chairs around all the NTC's and unmovable bad contracts, and reloading with the same bent rifles to do it all over again next season would be.
Change for changes sake? Sorry, but they’ve reached the point where that’s all that’s left. You know…the drastic times, drastic measure breaking point. Think about it: They rid themselves of all the toxic Hextall baggage, all minus 4th liner Carter (who like Geno also scored last night…woohoo! Let’s keep him too!) add a Norris Trophy winner, have better than league average goaltending and defense and still sheit the bed? What else is left? I suggest a new coach at minimum, but that suggestion gets the same “idiocy” treatment from you. Let’s also remember that even if they don’t trade Guentzel, he’s a UFA at the end of this cooked season, and chances are if they can resign him, they’ll have to spend more in money and term than they’d like, just for the novelty of helping prop up a dying and/or transitional team to a couple more disappointing seasons, be Sid’s favorite scoring mate, and eventually be the new “Why did they give him that huge NTC contract?” albatross when Sid is gone.
You are right in thinking Jake would be nice to keep. I’ll support it…if they trade Malkin or Letang and fire Sullivan. At least trade Letang because you can still probably get a viable prospect for him, or a high pick to turn into a trade for a good prospect. Not so much Geno anymore. What really bothers me is hearing someone like you say “this is a stupid game”, while watching the Pens do what they do anymore and play ugly bottom feeder level hockey while their season is on the line last night, and at the same time suggest it’s not about winning anymore, it’s about keeping Sid happy because he’s more important than the franchise. These emotion-filled statements and rants lead me to honestly believe there are people out there who if given the option of Sid playing here until he retires at 40, but the tradeoff is they’ll move the team to another city when he’s finished, they’d take that more instant gratification option over him playing in another city when his contract expires. Really? This is the "idiocy" headspace people are in because they can't accept that it's really over for this Sid era team?
I think boston has an asset that dubas really likes, 23 y/o so you aren't waiting 5 years for impact.
If they know they 100% can’t sign him or 100% that he won’t sign then you get something for him regardless of what it is. Something is always better than nothing. None of us actually know what those conversations between Jake and the team have been.
I don't get some of these comments.
Keep Jake, Crosby, Jarry in order to achieve what? Miss the playoffs or get an R1 exit again?
What the hell are you guys talking about? What do you guys want to preserve?
They need to sell EVERYTHING they can. They need DRAFT PICKS, not more pretending to be relevant.
They need to accelerate their return to being a contending team as much as possible, not indulge in more feelings of nostalgia and honoring the core.
The last thing they need right now is a 9M x 8Y contract for a winger until he's 38.
I'll be honest, when DOC was not back after the 2nd with no report as to why, and just a couple hours earlier it was announced that Zucker was held out for a trade, I was imagining a DOC-Guentzel-Other? trade to Arizona for Cooley. Arizona of all the teams could actually do a trade and sign on Jake since they have the room. Then trade Eller, bump Geno to the 3rd line. lol It's that time of the year for crazy trade scenarios!
See Ya Jake
This is all still assuming Jake has said he is willing to sign a new deal. There is zero evidence of this. It really seems like Guentzel is ready to move on and get paid and is letting his agent be the bad guy.
Please don't conflate Yager to a contender's 1st rd pick, guy's on pace for 90 pts, 20 more than last season's total. Pickering? Yes, absolutely.
Sign n trade? The team bringing him needs to have 9M in cap space for him next year. That means if they are contending team that has pieces working for them now that they would have to send back. What GM would do that. If I am a GM I would be looking at Eller or Carter (a guy that plays anywhere and a guy that is faceoff winner)
You thought Geno didn’t have passion in the game?
Idiocy and wrecklees to get nothing. You're also pretending the earth explodes when Sid is done. No, like, the Penguins will still be a hockey team, and Dubas will still have to fill it.
Dejan, i love and appreciate hearing your commentary on the Penguins but you could not be more wrong on the Guentzel situation. This guy is not signing for less than 10 and we would be foolish to be the ones to do it. We need to get whatever we can get for him.
I don't c anything working out other than KEEPING Jake, pay him and KEEP him, anything else seems just dumb to me
I don’t see understand why people say we shouldn’t trade Jake. He’s on an expiring deal, this is an opportunity for the pens to get younger (WHICH THEY NEED TO) and maximize assets for a player in the prime of his career. And the pens aren’t making the playoffs this year. And if he is a rental there is always that opportunity to resign Jake in the offseason. It makes sense. Also, the take that sid is dejected and not himself on the ice is bs. Sid more than anyone knows that the NHL is a business and has seen his loved wingers come and go his entire career. It’s when you start holding onto the core and family aspect of the pens is when the problem arises since holding onto players to not hurt their feelings is not how the NHL functions.
What's idiocy? Trade him as a rental, rebuild over the summer, maybe get him back in free agency.
why are we not dumping Geno? He doesn't have it anymore…plenty of teams would probably take him. Jake has growth down the line and is Sid's guy.