Top 20 players fans must know about ahead of the 2024 NHL trade deadline

Jake Guentzel makes for a high-end rental with virtually any serious contender

Don’t expect Jake Guentzel’s injury to be a dealbreaker for many contenders, especially since they will still get plenty of games out of him. Even with the Pittsburgh Penguins falling way short of expectations in 2023-24, it hasn’t kept Guentzel from averaging over a point per game, with 52 in 50 contests. 

Guentzel would work well with any team that either needs another layer of offense or someone who is already great with the puck in the offensive zone and wouldn’t mind adding another dynamic points producer to create even more mismatches. 

Teams like Vancouver, Edmonton, and Detroit would immediately reap the benefits of a player like Guentzel joining them for at least the remainder of the season. He could also be the last piece of a puzzle in Florida or Colorado and perhaps even turn one of them into the NHL’s best organizations by the time the regular season reaches its conclusion. 

The real concern with Guentzel will be his ability to stay healthy, as his current upper-body injury has kept him out for an extended time. However, Guentzel has shown he can keep himself off of injured reserve for the most part in the previous three seasons, so that is a good sign for teams interested in trading for him.