According to multiple insiders, Jake Guentzel's contract is 9 million average annual value over seven years. The total deal is worth $63 million, 53 of that comes in the form of a signing bonus which essentially no other team could match.
Guentzel, a native of Omaha, Nebraska, began the 2023-24 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins before being shipped to the Carolina Hurricanes ahead of the trade deadline in March. In 67 games with Pittsburgh and Carolina, Guentzel recorded 77 points (30 goals, 47 assists), 22 penalty minutes and was a plus-25. While with the Hurricanes in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the 29-year-old added nine points in 11 games.
The Tampa Bay Lightning are clearly getting an elite winger who can put points on the board and has a scoring touch that might be in hibernation at the moment, but should come back if he's on line with Kucherov.
