Pittsburgh Penguins could look to shop a member of their team's core this summer

The Pittsburgh Penguins franchise finds themselves in a situation their not used to. The team has missed the playoffs for the first time in 16 years, costing Brian Burke and former general manager Ron Hextall their jobs.

With the roster the Penguins have currently this feels like it will be a retool instead of the traditional rebuild route. One of the biggest decisions the new general manager will need to make is what to do with their most valuable asset Jake Guentzel.

Guentzel will be playing on the last year of his current contract, which means the Pittsburgh Penguins can offer Guentzel a contract extension this summer. If a deal can't be worked out there is no way Pittsburgh can let Guentzel walk to free agency without getting some assets in return.




The 28 year old has a cap hit of $6 million until the end of the 2023-2024 season. Guentzel led the team in scoring during the 2021-2022 season and finished 3rd in scoring this season with 36 goals and 73 points in 78 games.

Guentzel is the player on the roster that would bring back the most assets if Pittsburgh decides to move on. With most of the core on the wrong side of 30, the time might be now to start really planning for the future.