BRANDON, Fla. — Jake Guentzel was born in Nebraska, raised in Minnesota and plays in Florida for the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Still, even now, on his second team since being traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins, Guentzel remains an honorary Yinzer. Perhaps the lessons learned in Pittsburgh will help him with the Lightning because, fairly or not, he’ll be portrayed as the man who replaced franchise icon Steven Stamkos, who left Tampa in free agency for the Nashville Predators. Financially speaking, he is replacing Stamkos — and he knows it.
“Yeah, there is pressure,” Guentzel said after a recent Lightning practice. “It does feel different. A lot different.”
Guentzel signed a seven-year, $63 million contract a day after the aggressive Lightning acquired his rights from the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for a 2025 third-round draft pick on June 30.
There is no question Guentzel is happy in Tampa — “This place is awesome, absolutely one of the best places in the league to play,” he said — but a piece of his heart remains in Pittsburgh.
The drama surrounding Guentzel last season is still on his mind.
“I’m in a new spot now so I’m just trying to relax,” he said. “It was definitely a lot last year. It was hard on me and on my family, not sure what was going to happen at the deadline. It wasn’t a fun time.”
After Guentzel’s trade to Carolina on March 8, the Penguins went into an alarming funk that ultimately doomed their late-season charge as they again missed the postseason. The 29-year-old Guentzel was not only a point-per-game player in Pittsburgh. He was part of the core that helped the Penguins land a championship.
When he returned with the Hurricanes to play the Penguins on March 26, the typically affable and pleasant Guentzel was uncharacteristically short with the Pittsburgh media.
Why?
“I think back to that time a lot,” Guentzel said. “Obviously, you go back (to Pittsburgh), it’s a big deal, you want to get the win. We didn’t win that night. I just remember how frustrated I felt. It was nice seeing some friends, and I’ll never forget the crowd that night, how great the fans were. But it was honestly really hard for me to go back that night. There were so many emotions. Just a weird feeling for me.”
Guentzel makes $9 million per season and lives in Tampa, a favorable destination for many NHL players. Even better, he’s on a top line with superstar Nikita Kucherov and center Brayden Point.
This still wasn’t his preferred outcome.
One year ago, he made it clear to his agent, Ben Hankinson, and Penguins president of hockey operations/general manager Kyle Dubas where he wanted to play in the second half of his career.
“Staying in Pittsburgh was always the goal,” he said. “That’s very fair to say. I told Hank at the beginning of last year, ‘Let’s get something done. This is where I want to be.’”
The deal never happened, and ultimately, Dubas traded him to Carolina.
“You realize that it’s a business really fast,” Guentzel said.
At least Guentzel isn’t alone.
Two-thirds of the once-dominant “Sid and the Kids” line now play for the Lightning. Conor Sheary is in his second season with Tampa Bay and has been a welcome presence for Guentzel.
“I’m so glad he’s here,” Guentzel said. “Having him here is a big deal.”
The feeling is mutual.
“It’s not easy changing teams, and it’s not easy leaving Pittsburgh,” said Sheary, a key member of the Penguins’ 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup teams. “I’m happy Jake is down here and will do everything to help him get comfortable.”
The spotlight on Guentzel will be immense, given Stamkos is gone and Tampa still has Stanley Cup expectations.
Guentzel is hoping the drama of last season will help him handle the storm that figures to follow his first slump while wearing blue.
“There was pressure on me last year (in Carolina),” Guentzel said.
A question around Guentzel last year was whether he was merely a good player whose numbers were juiced by playing with Crosby for essentially his whole career. But Guentzel and Crosby both saw an uptick after the trade — an unexpected development for both players, especially Guentzel. He produced 25 points in 17 games with the Hurricanes and added another nine points in 11 postseason games, making it clearer than ever that Guentzel is a star.
“It’s funny with him,” said Patric Hornqvist, Guentzel’s former Penguins teammate who is keeping an eye on his old protege as a member of the rival Florida Panthers. “He’s not extremely good at anything. But he’s one of the best players in the league. I don’t know how else to explain it.
“From the second I saw him come into the league, he was never rushed when he had the puck. Always was one of those guys who had that split second, that patience with the puck. It’s what makes him special. I’m happy he’s down here, happy for him.”
The Sunshine State rivalry, in fact, is littered with former Penguins.
“I love Jake,” Panthers winger Evan Rodrigues said. “Glad he’s playing in Tampa Bay. We still talk. But he did get me with a pretty good cross-check last year, so I’ll be looking for him. But seriously, I’m happy he’s down here.”
Jon Cooper is happy, too. On the first day of training camp, the longtime Lighting coach said Guentzel isn’t in Tampa to replace Stamkos. Cooper is all too aware of the pressure Guentzel is under and has tried to lighten the load immediately.
He also has already enjoyed watching Guentzel’s famously high hockey IQ in training camp. Guentzel, the son of a coach, always stands out to NHL coaches a little differently.
“I’d call it a luxury, guys like that,” Cooper said. “When you have guys who think the game that way, for a coach, you love to have it. Some players are undersized or whatever they don’t have in physical attributes, it’s how those guys survive. You can’t have enough of those guys.”
There are only so many of them, of course.
The lessons of the past 12 months figure to serve Guentzel well. Make no mistake, he learned plenty during his time in Pittsburgh, and that, too, will guide him.
“Just playing with Sid, learning from him, and all the great players and great coaches that were in Pittsburgh during my time there, it’s always going to help me,” Guentzel said.
Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson have now been replaced by Kucherov, Point, Victor Hedman and Andrei Vasilevskiy as Guentzel’s high-profile teammates.
“Playing with Kucherov is special,” Guentzel said. “He got 100 assists last year. That tells you something about how special he is. It’s pretty cool being surrounded by that kind of top-end talent, those kinds of Hall of Famers.”
For Guentzel, it’s nothing new. Hall of Famers surrounded him in his first NHL chapter, and his mind can’t help but sometimes drift back to the city he always wanted to call home.
“Well, I have (Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher) Paul Skenes on my fantasy baseball team, and that guy is incredible,” Guentzel said. “And hey, how about the Steelers? Undefeated, huh? I bet everyone back in Pittsburgh is excited about that.”
Then Guentzel, wearing a Lightning hat and matching shirt, shook his head, smiled and started to walk into his new locker room before stopping for just a moment.
“There is a lot of pressure on me,” he said. “But that’s what makes it fun. I’m ready for this. I’ve learned a lot over the years. I learned so much in Pittsburgh.”
(Photo: Courtesy of the Tampa Bay Lightning)
