Player Discussion: Jake Guentzel
- Thread starter LightningStrikes
- Start date
Stammertime91
TBL: TEAM OF THE CENTURY
We should fire Cooper because Guentzel is only a PPG player. He should be at least at 2ppg right now and in the running for the Vezina with a 20-0 record. This is ridiculous.
Maelmoor
Registered User
Guentzel is definitely an upgrade over Stamkos in the 5vs5 game, so I'm really pleased with him so far!
He's been very good, IMO. As advertised, if not a little better.
I don't like how we always put all of our best players together even when some of them show chemistry elsewhere. I wish we would be willing to play a guy a little lower now and again to create more depth.
I'd like to see us use Guentzel on a lower line. Might hurt his numbers, but I think it would help the team.
FinnLightning26
Death and no taxes
Right. I mean, i know Guentzel is great on the top line, but Point and Kucherov don't need much help. Hagel looks like he may have taken yet another step, and Cirelli has either gotten a little better or Stamkos really was dragging down his numbers.
X-Point-Kucherov
Hagel-Cirelli-X
Guentzel-Paul-X
OR, if we must load the top six...
Hagel-Point-Kucherov
Guentzel-Cirelli-Paul
bov
Registered User
- Nov 13, 2010
- 7,401
- 3,561
Guentzel is a good player, but to date has been the 5th best forward on the team. For that money, I'd like to see someone who has the ability to take over a game in certain moments and I haven't quite seen that yet. He is a good, skilled winger who can put up points and compliment the star players.
He hasn't been bad by any means and I know the cap is going up, but this has the makings of a really bad contract in a few years. I hope has he one more level to his game tbh, and can sustain a high level into his 30s.
He hasn't been bad by any means and I know the cap is going up, but this has the makings of a really bad contract in a few years. I hope has he one more level to his game tbh, and can sustain a high level into his 30s.
Stammertime91
TBL: TEAM OF THE CENTURY
I'd say this is fair but he's essentially a way more proven Hagel. I like Guentzel but I think we already had a superior player in Hagel. We basically duplicated Hagel and now have a strong LW 1-2 punch. I don't disagree with people thinking they'd expect more of a game breaking type of a player but thats not his style. He's the kind of guy that needs one shot and he puts you back in the game or over the top. I'm glad we resigned Hagel because I could see him getting Guentzel money in another season. Especially with team Canada knocking. Anyways, no complaints from me on him but I get both sides of the discussion.
LordStanlersCup
Registered User
- Sep 6, 2024
- 132
- 86
I think there is merit to arguing Guentzel has another level that he hasn't hit here yet. His DFF% is the worst its been since 20-21 but its still a respectable 50.8% going against other teams top lines. His numbers last year in PIT was 56.1% and in CAR it was 63.9% which is insane so I think with a little more time to develop some chemistry he should still have another gear to hit. They also haven't really found a way to incorporate him into the powerplay yet so those numbers will likely still grow.
The money is pretty good, really. Star players are getting into double digits regularly now, and the rising cap is about to make 10+ a forgone conclusion for top line players.
I don't think we can worry about contracts years down the road. We just aren't in that position. If we somehow manage to survive Hedman's decline, there's no way we survive Kucherov's.
If we hit the lottery a couple of times in the draft, the situation changes, because that would create a new core to build around. But as of now, there's unlikely to be a competitive team in 3-4 years, so we have to do whatever we can to acquire players now. The contracts will be at their worst in the years we have no hope of being competitive with or without them.
