Jake Guentzel reveals why he signed with Lightning

Forward Jake Guentzel was one of the most highly coveted players on the NHL free agent market, and he was locked up with a lengthy contract by the Tampa Bay Lightning. He decided to take his talents to the Sunshine State after having played the first portion of his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins before being dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes at the 2024 Trade Deadline. 

It marks a dramatic change for the Lightning, who saw team captain and franchise icon Steven Stamkos depart town to ink a four-year deal with the Nashville Predators after being unable to come to terms on a new contract; Guentzel will be paid $63 million over the next seven years by his new team. 

And according to Guentzel, Tampa Bay's winning ways are what stood out the most to him while he was making his decision. 

"They all know how to win," Guentzel told NHL.com's Jessi Pierce on Wednesday. "There's just a winning pedigree there. (And I) still feel like we have a chance to win."

"There's a lot of high-end players, elite players on the team, and just an unbelievable opportunity for me and my family to go do something else on our own," Guentzel continued. "It's going to be fun for us. It's going to be different, it's going to be challenging, but it's going to be something that we're looking forward to."

The Lightning still boast the likes of Nikita Kucherov and Brayden Point up front, along with stalwart defenseman Victor Hedman and franchise goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes. And while he's heading for arguably the most competitive division in hockey, he's looking forward to the challenge. 

"It's a new team, a new division, and a new opportunity," Guentzel said. "Last year was a really different year for me with injury and being traded and what not, but I learned a lot, too. I think heading into this season with Tampa is going to be really exciting just to see what we can manage to do together with all the high-end talent there is."

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