NHL insider predicts Canadian team for Jake Guentzel

Its been a terrible first year for new general manager Kyle Dubas of the Pittsburgh Penguins as his team continues to flail near the bottom and unable to get their season going while others are passing them by.

As the team continues to fall out of playoff favor, it's becoming more likely the team will have to do a rebuild or a major retool to become competitive once again.

This means he will need to decide on Penguins forward Jake Guentzel. It will come down to whether he trades him at the deadline to recuperate draft picks and prospects as he will be an unrestricted free agent next year or try to re sign him as soon as possible.

32 Thoughts Podcaster and Sportsnet NHL insider Elliotte Friedman weighed in on his idea of where Guentzel may go, and it appears that he feels the Edmonton Oilers will be the fit.



Guentzel would be strictly a rental for the Oilers as they would need to do serious reconfiguration to the roster to retain him long term. The Oilers currently have $519,116 in cap space and would need to move a roster player of significant value along with prospect and pick to make this work. They also hold their first and second round pick this season which could be used in a move to acquire him.

His offensive talent and speed would bolster the Oilers front lines and give them more options on the power play.

Guentzel holds a cap hit of $6 million And would require Pittsburgh to retain some salary. It's certainly possible for a deal to be found between Ken Holland and Dubas.