Struck By Lightning: After Nearly Eight Seasons In Pittsburgh, Jake Guentzel Aims To Return Lightning To Recent Glory

On the surface, it was a summer like any other for Jake Guentzel. Lots of quality time with family on the shores of Lake Elmo in Minnesota, with Jake’s parents and his older brothers, Gabe and Ryan, all close by.

“It’s where we grew up,” Guentzel said. “My workout is 10 minutes away, and skating is pretty close, too. I come back here every summer, to Minnesota, and just kind of hang out.”

At two years old, Jake’s son, Charlie, remains blissfully unaware of the thunderstorm that’s brewing for his family. Instead of heading back to Pittsburgh, where Jake carved out his place as one of the NHL’s best left wingers over the past eight seasons, a new chapter is about to begin with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

After the Carolina Hurricanes traded his rights to the Lightning on June 30 in exchange for a third-round pick, Guentzel cashed in one day later, signing a seven-year, $63-million deal ($9-million AAV). “I really think we have a chance to do something special,” he said. “My family and I are excited to get down there. We really can’t wait to get going.”

Drafted in the third round (77th overall) in 2013 out of USHL Sioux City, Guentzel spent three years developing his game at NCAA Nebraska-Omaha before joining AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in the spring of 2016. During the 2016 AHL playoffs, he led the Baby Pens with 14 points in 10 games.

A week after Wilkes-Barre/Scranton lost its seven-game battle against the Hershey Bears, Guentzel flew into Pittsburgh for Game 5 of the 2016 Eastern Conference final. That night, it was none other than the Lightning who took a 3-2 series lead against the eventual Cup champs thanks to Tyler Johnson’s overtime goal. “The atmosphere was unbelievable,” Guentzel said. “There’s nothing like playoffs.”

The next day, he inked his first NHL contract, and by the middle of 2016-17, Guentzel had staked a permanent claim on the stall next to Sidney Crosby’s in the Penguins’ dressing room.

That June, Pittsburgh became the first team to win back-to-back Cups since the 1997 and 1998 Detroit Red Wings. Guentzel led his star-laden squad with 13 goals. In the process, he became the first rookie ever to lead the NHL in playoff goal-scoring.

Since Guentzel scored twice in his NHL debut against the New York Rangers on Nov. 21, 2016, his 227 goals place him 20th overall in the league, and his 491 points in 520 games rank 29th.

Among American-born players, he sits fourth in goals and sixth in points over the same time frame. That positions him well to earn a spot with Team USA as NHL players return to international competition with the 4 Nations Face-Off in 2025 and the Winter Olympics in Italy in 2026. “There’s a lot of high-end players for us, and it’s obviously going to be a challenge,” Guentzel said. “A lot of guys are going to be fighting for spots. You’ve got to make sure you come into the season hot and playing well and do whatever it takes to make that team.”

The competition is fierce. Matthew Tkachuk has already been named to America’s 4 Nations roster, and Team USA’s GM Bill Guerin can round out his left side with Guentzel, Jason Robertson, Chris Kreider and Kyle Connor, or he could shift other talents over from center or right wing.

Many of those players have a history with USA Hockey from the world juniors, the World Championship or the National Team Development Program. For Guentzel, a roster nod in 2025 or 2026 would be his first opportunity to suit up for his country. “That’s obviously a dream, to play for Team USA,” he said.

As successful as Guentzel was in his time with the Penguins, he often operated in the shadow of stars Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

But last spring, Guentzel’s profile spiked to new heights as he became the top rental option at the NHL trade deadline, approaching unrestricted free agency after failing to reach an agreement with the Penguins on a long-term contract extension.

Though a mid-February injury left him with broken ribs and a torn oblique muscle as the deadline approached, teams clamored to add Guentzel.

One day before the March 8 trade deadline, the Hurricanes won the bidding war, sending Pittsburgh a package that included as many as six pieces, including a potential first-round draft pick. That pick became a second-rounder when Carolina failed to advance to the 2024 Stanley Cup final.

On March 12, Guentzel debuted with his new team in a 1-0 loss to the Rangers, but business quickly picked up from there. Finding immediate chemistry on the top line with Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, Guentzel piled up 25 points in 17 regular-season games, then added another nine points in 11 playoff games.

His performance left no doubt that he could deliver high-end offense outside of the Penguins’ environment. As a result, teams chased hard again before July 1. The Lightning decided it was worth acquiring his rights to ensure they got their man.

“You’re not really sure how it’s going to go in a new spot,” Guentzel said. “For me to go play in Carolina, to have a little success there, definitely gave me confidence as a player and a person.”

Guentzel won’t have to fret about returning to Pittsburgh on the visiting side. That moment came just over two weeks after his trade to Carolina.

With the memory of his performances in the black-and-yellow still fresh in their minds, Penguins fans rose to their feet to show their respect as Guentzel’s tribute video rolled during the first period on March 26, 2024. (The Penguins went on to defeat the Hurricanes 4-1.)

Guentzel was held off the scoresheet that night. But, practically speaking, the timing worked out well. “My family just stayed there, cleaned up the house, and got that all sort of situated,” he said. “Then, they were out in Raleigh the rest of the time.”

Though Guentzel was born in Nebraska, his roots run deep in the State of Hockey. He was a rink rat while his father, Mike, served as an assistant and associate coach with the Golden Gophers at the University of Minnesota for nearly two decades. When Jake reached high school, he followed his brothers into the hockey program at the Hill-Murray School in Maplewood, Minn.

Growing up, one of his brothers’ hockey pals was Ryan McDonagh. He’s now part of Guentzel’s summer skating group and is headed back to Tampa Bay for a second tour of duty with the Lightning. “It’s nice to have someone, especially here in Minnesota, that I’ll skate with, that I can talk to and just kind of teach me the way down there,” Guentzel said. “It’ll be good to have someone to lean on.”

And after working with two of the top coaches in the game in Mike Sullivan and Rod Brind’Amour, Guentzel will now be guided by another widely respected bench boss in Jon Cooper. “I’ve heard nothing but unbelievable things about him, his demeanor and how smart he is about the game,” Guentzel said. “I can’t wait to learn from him and get to know him a little bit more.”

That's obviously a dream, to play for Team USA – Jake Guentzel, on the NHL 4 Nations Face-Off

It won’t be all new faces in the Sunshine State. Current Lightning players Conor Sheary and Derrick Pouliot also got their starts in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, and defenseman Nick Perbix is an Elk River, Minn., native who, like Guentzel and McDonagh, is a regular in Minnesota’s Da Beauty League (which features NHLers, NCAA players and other hockey elite playing some recreational summer puck).

Over the years, Guentzel has soaked up guidance from other local hockey minds. Thomas Vanek and Alex Stalock introduced him to ETS Sports Performance – a chain of fitness facilities tailored to high-level athletes of all ages across multiple sports. “I was looking for something new going into my third year,” Guentzel said. “I knew Thomas Vanek for a while, and he said he was working out there. Ever since then, I haven’t gone anywhere else. It’s been great.”

A year ago, Guentzel became an ETS partner. “Here we are now – we have a gym in Minnesota together,” he said. “What I like about it is, it’s not just one-dimensional. It gives you everything you need in all sports, and they really specialize it for each and every athlete.”

Guentzel turns 30 in October, so his summer training now focuses primarily on functional movement and strengthening key areas to help prevent potential injuries. “You want to help your body, especially as you get older,” he said.

It has been seven years since the then-22-year-old rookie brought the Stanley Cup back to Minnesota, visiting his youth-hockey rink in Woodbury along with a local restaurant and golf course. He’s eager to do it again. “I’ve just got to come in and make sure I’m playing my best, at a high level,” Guentzel said. “There’s a lot of high-end players there. So wherever you play, you’re with good players.”

If his plan succeeds, Lightning may strike again next spring.

This article appeared in the Sept. 9, 2024 edition of The Hockey News. In this edition, we say goodbye and celebrate the lives of Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau. Also in the issue, we look at the biggest names to change teams this summer, including Steven Stamkos, Jake Guentzel, Jake DeBrusk and more. In addition, we look back at the "forgotten" 1974 Summit Series on its 50th anniversary.

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