Kyle Dubas' asking price for Jake Guentzel revealed.

For weeks now there have been quite significant trade rumors regarding the future of veteran Pittsburgh Penguins forward Jake Guentzel, with Guentzel currently playing on an expiring contract. Throughout this time it has remained relatively unclear in which direction the Penguins intend to move with Guentzel, but that may be changing rapidly.

On Monday, National Hockey League insider Elliotte Friedman, who covered Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas for many years in Toronto, revealed his belief that Dubas is likely to move Guentzel regardless of how well the Penguins perform down the final stretch of the regular season.

"To me its just simply a question of when does Dubas decide if he's going to do it?" asked Friedman. "If Pittsburgh is in the race I still think he does it."

Friedman also revealed how much he believes it will take in order to pry Guentzel away from the Penguins, pointing to a recent trade between the Florida Panthers and Philadelphia Flyers as a point of comparison.

"Dubas is sitting there he's saying 'Look, if you want Guentzel I want the Giroux deal' so he can wait," revealed Friedman on Monday.

The primary assets in that deal that Friedman was focused on were the first round pick given up by the Florida Panthers as well as prospect Owen Tippett. Friedman believes that a similar offer, a first round pick plus a top prospect, is what it will take for Dubas to finally pull the trigger on trading Guentzel.

"I think everybody knows, that's what the Penguins are going to be asking for when the time comes for Guentzel," said Friedman in conclusion.