Penguins star could delay extension talks with team

Jake Guentzel’s future with the Penguins is one of several questions surrounding the team as they continue to battle to get back into a wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.  The fact he’s a pending unrestricted free agent would seem to expedite the need for extension talks to happen.  However, in a recent appearance on the NHL Network, David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period suggests that Guentzel’s camp could opt to wait until the summer before engaging in substantive discussions about a new deal.  He adds that there have been no discussions between the two sides so far.

The 29-year-old is in the middle of what could be a career year as he has 18 goals and 25 assists in 37 games so far, a 95-point pace.  His previous benchmark was sent in 2021-22 when he collected 84 points in 76 contests.  Guentzel has reached the 40-goal mark twice so far in his career and is on pace for 40 this season as well, setting him up quite nicely for a substantial raise on his current $6M AAV.

One of the elements that could delay Guentzel’s decision is Pittsburgh’s place in the standings.  If GM Kyle Dubas decides to embark on any sort of retool or rebuild, it’s possible that could dissuade Guentzel from wanting to extend.  Of course, it’s possible that in that scenario, the decision gets taken out of his hands altogether if the Penguins decide to move him altogether by the March 8th trade deadline.  What Pittsburgh’s plans are moving forward will obviously go a long way toward determining Guentzel’s level of interest in sticking around.

Assuming the salary cap goes up to the $87.5M range as anticipated, Pittsburgh should have enough flexibility to make a competitive offer to Guentzel, one that could push past the $9M mark on a long-term agreement.  Considering his value to the team and in a potential trade, it stands to reason that Dubas will at least approach Guentzel’s camp to get a sense of what a new deal might cost.  But one way or another, it doesn’t appear as if he’ll be putting pen to paper on an extension anytime soon.