Top contender steps out of Jake Guentzel’s sweepstakes on Wednesday night!

The Pittsburgh Penguins are looking to score a huge return if moving star forward Jake Guentzel and that might have cause one of the top contenders to step out of the sweepstakes.

According to Penguins insider Josh Yohe, the Vancouver Canucks will not keep pursuing Guentzel if general manager Kyle Dubas’ price tag does not come down.

“From what I’ve been told tonight, Jake Guentzel isn’t going to Vancouver unless Kyle Dubas’ asking price goes down. The Canucks would love to land him. But Dubas is asking for a price that they aren’t currently willing to pay.
Gonna be interesting.”

It’s been reported that the Penguins could seek a return that includes both a first-round pick and some top-tier prospects. Pittsburgh is hoping to start building for their next run at a Stanley Cup without undergoing a full rebuild.

Guentzel is currently on the Penguins’ long-term injured reserve, ruling him out beyond March 8, but he might have just played his last game with the team. He is a pending unrestricted free agent carrying a cap hit of $6 million. He has 22 goals and 52 points in 50 games this season.

There is also a possibility that teams looking to acquire Guentzel could call about extending him before they make their trade offers to the Penguins. He’s been linked to the Canucks for weeks now but with this report ruling them out, Guentzel could end up with the Carolina Hurricanes, Florida Panthers, New York Rangers or even the - wait for it - Vegas Golden Knights.

Frank Seravalli reports:

“Unless something changes, belief is Florida and Vancouver have made strong push but don’t have goods to pull it off.
Of note: VGK could potentially create more cap room if Alec Martinez goes on LTIR.”

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