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In a recent interview with Pittsburgh Penguins beat writer Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Jake Guentzel revealed that being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes was against his wish and that he wanted to remain a Penguin:
“My intention was to stay. They thought there was a better direction," he said.
Guentzel was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes by the Pittsburgh Penguins management in exchange for forward Michael Bunting at the trade deadline.
Bunting has a previous relationship with Penguins GM Kyle Dubas. He is a rising forward who has a knack for scoring around the net.
The trade for Jake Guentzel has made the Carolina Hurricanes significantly better, with six wins and two losses in the last eight games. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins have Michael Bunting in the top six as a depth scorer and playmaker.
Both players have advanced their respective rosters and provided ample amounts of depth and scoring power, which both teams desperately needed.
Jake Guentzel fitting in with his new club
In an interview with The Hockey News' Ryan Henkel on March 8, Guentzel opened up about the experience with his new club and how he fit in:
"I'm just obviously really excited," the forward said. "You know what the team's done in the past and how close they've been. Just obviously really excited for the opportunity. This is a special team with a lot of high-end players and they're really well coached. Excited to get the opportunity to play for them and we'll see what comes from there."
Guentzel also told Henkel about his first few days with the team:
"It was a pretty crazy couple of days. You're not really sure what to expect or where you're going or what's going to happen. It was definitely new territory for me, but it was just a lot of talking with my agent to see what was going on and what teams were interested and Carolina was the one that stepped up the most so I couldn't be happier and just looking forward to starting."
Jake Guentzel and the Carolina Hurricanes host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
