Jake Guentzel’s trade from Penguins was against his intention

In a recent interview with Pittsburgh Penguins beat writer Josh Yohe of The Athletic, Jake Guentzel revealed that being traded to the Carolina Hurricanes was against his wish and that he wanted to remain a Pittsburgh Penguin:

Jake Guentzel: “My intention was to stay. They thought there was a better direction.”

Guentzel was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes by the Pittsburgh Penguins management. GM Kyle Dubas traded him in exchange for forward Michael Bunting at the trade deadline.

Bunting, who has a previous relationship with Dubas, made sense in the trade between both teams. Michael Bunting is a rising forward in the NHL, who has a knack for scoring around the net.

The trade for Jake Guentzel has made the Carolina Hurricanes significantly better, having six wins and two losses in the last eight games. Meanwhile, the Pittsburgh Penguins have Michael Bunting in the top six formation as a depth scorer and playmaker.

Both players have advanced their respective rosters and provided ample amounts of depth and scoring power, which both teams desperately needed.

Jake Guentzel fitting in with his new club

In an interview with The Hockey News’ Ryan Henkel on March 8, Guentzel opened up about his new experience with his new club and how he fit in with the players of the team:

“I’m just obviously really excited,” the forward said. “You know what the team’s done in the past and how close they’ve been. Just obviously really excited for the opportunity. This is a special team with a lot of high-end players and they’re really well coached. Excited to get the opportunity to play for them and we’ll see what comes from there.”

During the interview, Guentzel also told Henkel about his first few days with the team:

“It was a pretty crazy couple of days. You’re not really sure what to expect or where you’re going or what’s going to happen. It was definitely new territory for me, but it was just a lot of talking with my agent to see what was going on and what teams were interested and Carolina was the one that stepped up the most so I couldn’t be happier and just looking forward to starting.”

Jake Guentzel and the Carolina Hurricanes host the Detroit Red Wings next on Thursday.