Ugly divorce with Jake Guentzel comes back to haunt the Penguins

Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby has been holding on to the hopes of a reunion with former teammate Jake Guentzel, who was shipped out to the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the March trade deadline. While, in the past, Guentzel himself has mentioned the desire to return to Pittsburgh, it seems like Crosby’s dream to be paired again on a line with Guentzel is unlikely to come true.

Guentzel is expected to test free agency in July and could listen to offers from Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas, who would need to move pieces around to fit the winger under his cap. It has been projected that Guentzel could get a massive six year deal at $8 million annually as a free agent.

However, Josh Yohe of The Athletic gives a blunt prediction of that happening and basically tells Penguins’ fans not to hold their breaths. Yohe claims that it would be extremely surprising to see Guentzel consider the Penguins even if he is close friends with Crosby and loved his time in Pittsburgh.

Yohe reports that the divorce between the two parties was bitter and that Guentzel still has not come to terms with the way he was treated by management. Additionally, the Penguins have a limited budget this summer, which reduces the chances of a return since he would have to accept a salary below his value to return to Pittsburgh which, under the circumstances, would be highly unlikely.

Yohe writes: “However, Guentzel was pretty angry about the trade, and I think even angrier that, in his view, the Penguins never made a legitimate attempt to sign him to a long-term contract. Then, consider this: The Penguins don’t have much cap space and have holes to fill throughout the lineup.”

It looks more and more unlikely that the Penguins would be able to match any lucrative offer out there fore Guentzel on the free market, and unless Crosby can pull some magic trick on both the team and Guentzel, the latter will not return to Pittsburgh for seasons to come…