An unrestricted free agent at the end of this season, forward Jake Guentzel's future with the Pittsburgh Penguins appears to be more than nebulous.
On this issue, the 29-year-old forward's agent, Ben Hankinson, did not hesitate to put pressure on Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas. The former considers absolutely all possible options in the case of his client.
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“Could it get ugly? “Yes, it’s possible,” he explained, whose comments were relayed by Rob Rossi of The Athletic on Sunday. Kyle [Dubas] also has to make decisions: what direction the team will take and what investment he will make with Jake. Is it the same direction? It will depend on how they play and we will think about it together.
“As for the trade deadline, [Kyle Dubas] “Maybe we’ll look at what he can get for Jake or what it will cost to sign him,” Hankinson continued. A lot is going to happen in two months and I don’t know the answers.”
The good news for the Pennsylvania big man is that his team has been playing much better for some time, which could be another argument to convince Guentzel to stay. In fact, with a record of 6-3-1 in their last 10 games, the Pens are now just two points away from a playoff spot.
However, the organization's third-round pick in 2013 did not want to go into details about his future with the club.
“I mean, I’m not going to go into too much detail,” he said. I'm just trying to play and we'll see what happens over time.
This season, Günztel has 18 goals and 25 assists for 43 points in 38 games. He has a $6 million impact on the Penguins' payroll.