NHL Rumors: Jake Guentzel Trade ‘Getting Close’ Amid Penguins-Hurricanes Buzz

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Jake Guentzel could be staying in the Metropolitan Division even if the Pittsburgh Penguins trade him.

Carolina Hurricanes winger Michael Bunting was scratched Thursday night for “trade-related reasons,” according to the team.

Bunting’s scratch could be related to a Hurricanes trade for Guentzel, according to Sportnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas previously signed Bunting as a free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Hurricanes aren’t the only ones looking to trade for the Penguins winger. The New York Rangers are also “very in on Guentzel talks,” according to USA Today’s Vince Z. Mercogliano.

The Carolina Hurricanes, Vegas Golden Knights, Vancouver Canucks and Florida Panthers are also reportedly interested in Guentzel, per Mercogliano and David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period.

Pagnotta added that the Guentzel trade is “getting close.”

Before missing the Penguins’ last 10 games with an upper body injury, Guentzel was playing at a point-per-game pace with 22 goals and 30 assists in 50 contests.

Guentzel is in the final year of an expiring $6 million AAV contract, and is likely to get a raise on his next deal. Any trade for him must be completed before 3 p.m. ET Friday.

Guentzel returned to Penguins practice in a full-contact jersey Thursday for the first time since suffering an injury during a Valentine’s Day loss to the Florida Panthers.

That means whoever keeps him is likely to have him available for a late-season push to the playoffs. That could be a crucial boost for teams like the Rangers, Hurricanes and Golden Knights, which each sit in a playoff spot heading into the trade deadline.

The Penguins, meanwhile, head into Thursday eight points and two teams back of the last Wild Card spot in the East.

The Penguins are hoping for a quick turnaround to take advantage of the last season of Sidney Crosby’s current contract in 2024-25, so they’re seeking prospects over draft picks in the trade, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman.

That could be a problem for the Rangers’ likelihood of working out a deal with Dubas.

The Rangers are wiling to give up a first-round pick for 2025 in a trade, but are hesitant to offer top forward prospects Gabe Perreault and Brennan Othmann, according to ESPN’s Emily Kaplan (h/t Yahoo Sports.)

Perreault, a 2023 first-round pick, likely remains a “hard no,” according to Mercogliano.

Mercogliano speculated, however, that Rangers general manager Chris Drury might be willing to consider a deal involving Othmann, who has 36 points in 48 games with the AHL’s Hartford Wolf Pack this season.

Guentzel, who has spent the majority of his eight-season NHL career on the Penguins’ top line alongside Crosby, has 219 goals and 466 points in 503 career games.