Pittsburgh Penguins trade Jake Guentzel to Carolina Hurricanes

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded Jake Guentzel.

PHOTOS: Jake Guentzel’s career with the Pittsburgh Penguins

Guentzel was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday night, the team confirmed in a news release.

The full trade includes Guentzel and Ty Smith to Carolina, in exchange for Michael Bunting, Ville Koivunen, Vasili Ponomarev and Cruz Lucius. The Penguins will also conditionally get Carolina’s first and fifth-round picks in 2024.

The Penguins drafted Guentzel in 2013 and the star winger signed a three-year entry-level contract in 2016. Guentzel made his NHL debut on Nov. 21, 2016, against the New York Rangers and scored two goals on his first two shots.

Guentzel was the first Penguins rookie to score a hat trick in the playoffs and was an integral part of the 2017 Stanley Cup-winning squad. The winger tallied 21 points in the Cup Final series against the Nashville Predators, which is tied for the most points by a rookie in a single postseason.

Guentzel, who is currently on the long-term injured reserve and cannot play until March 10, has scored 52 points in 50 games this season, scoring 22 goals. In Guentzel’s eight seasons in Pittsburgh, he appeared in 503 games, tallying 219 goals, and 466 points.

Guentzel’s five-year deal with a $6 million average annual value expires this season and afterward, he would become an unrestricted free agent.

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