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Jake Guentzel was the top player available ahead of the NHL trade deadline and it was the Carolina Hurricanes who landed him from the Pittsburgh Penguins. Guentzel is a great offensive player, but his defense is also solid, as he doesn't get out of position too often.
The Hurricanes did pay a price to get him, but so far, it appears it has been worth it.
How good has Jake Guentzel been with Carolina?
Jake Guentzel has played in nine games for the Carolina Hurricanes and has two goals and 10 assists for 12 points. Guentzel is playing on the Hurricanes' top line with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis. The left winger has had instant chemistry with the two.
"There are a lot of high-end players on this team, just trying to help the team out as much as I can," Guentzel said, via CBS. "As a line, lately we've had a little run here and it's been fun. Hopefully it kind of keeps going and will see what happens."
Before the Penguins game on Tuesday, Guentzel had turned around Carolina's offense and the stats backed it up:
As Megan Chayka shows, before Tuesday's game, when Guentzel is on the ice, Carolina was outscoring opponents 16-0, while the Hurricanes are +62 in shot attempts, +24 in slot shots, and +8 in high-danger chances.
When the Hurricanes traded for Guentzel, head coach Rod Brind'Amour admits he didn't realize just how good the forward was.
"I still think he's trying to figure out what we do, but he's such a smart player that you can probably drop him off anywhere and he can figure it out," said Hurricanes coach Rod Brind'Amour, via HockeyNews.
"I think there's still another level of understanding of what we're trying to do, but he's a better people than I probably thought he was, to be quite honest. I knew he was a great player, but it's just the little things that you don't get to see when he's on another team. Just a real intelligent player."
Jake Guentzel has made the Hurricanes offense that much more dangerous and makes Carolina one of the Stanley Cup favorites. So, the trade has been a massive success for Carolina and it will be interesting to see how far they can go.
