Former Penguins Forward Goes Pointless In Pre-Season Action

On the first day of free agency, former Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel signed with the Tampa Bay Lightning, agreeing to a seven-year deal worth $63 million.

During the two pre-season games with his new club, Guentzel was pointless while averaging 17:44 a game. 

As a two-time 40-goal scorer, Guentzel was one of the top free agents in 2024, splitting last season between the Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. He finished the year with 30 goals and 77 points.

With no plans to re-sign him in the offseason, Pittsburgh traded the 30-year-old from Omaha, NE, to the Hurricanes with Ty Smith in exchange for Michael Bunting, Ville Koivunen, Cruz Lucius, and Vasiliy Ponomarev.

Carolina dealt him to Tampa Bay on the verge of free agency, which committed to Guentzel long-term. They opted to give him a big contract offer while letting their long-time captain, Steven Stamkos, depart as a free agent.

DailyFaceoff indicates that Guentzel is skating on the Lightning's top line, which also includes Brayden Point and the reigning Art Ross winner Nikita Kucherov. 

Considering that Kucherov became only the sixth player in NHL history to collect 100 assists in a single season, Guentzel has set himself with a teammate who has a pass-first mentality, just like his former linemate Sidney Crosby.

In 50 games with the Penguins, he had 22 goals and 52 points (1.04 points per game), then 25 points in 17 games with the Hurricanes (1.47 points per game). 

Meanwhile, in 11 playoff games, Guentzel registered nine points, tied for third in scoring with three other teammates. 

The one-time Stanley Cup winner (2017) has played 520 regular season games, scoring 227 goals and 491 points, good enough for a points-per-game average of 0.94. However, in 82 postseason games, he's netted 45 goals and 80 points for a 0.97 points-per-game average.

Guentzel and the Lightning meet three times during the 2024-25 season, with their first encounter on November 19.