Getty Tampa Bay Lightning forward Jake Guentzel.
The Tampa Bay Lightning traded for the negotiating rights of pending free agent Jake Guentzel and they have made the most of that situation.
As first reported by Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff on June 30, the Lightning have signed Guentzel after acquiring him from the Carolina Hurricanes earlier on Sunday in exchange for a 2025 third-round draft pick.
Sources say #GoBolts have agreed to terms on a contract with Jake Guentzel after a productive Sunday.
Details have been hard to come by as Tampa has other moving parts, and info might not come out until tomorrow.
“Sources say #GoBolts have agreed to terms on a contract with Jake Guentzel after a productive Sunday. Details have been hard to come by as Tampa has other moving parts, and info might not come out until tomorrow,” Seravalli reported.
Shortly after that, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun shared more information about the framework of the contract signed by Guentzel, namely the length. As expected, it’s going to be a maximum seven-year contract.
“Still not finalized, but all signs point to Tampa getting Jake Guentzel signed to a 7-year deal. I would expect an announcement sometime tomorrow before the market opens. The Bolts weren’t going to trade for his rights without feeling good about their chances to get him signed,” LeBrun reported after Seravalli’s initial post.
The trade for Guentzel’s rights provided Tampa Bay with an exclusive negotiating window with the forward ahead of unrestricted free agency on July 1. The Lightning entered the two-day NHL draft with barely $5 million in cap space but exited it with more than $15 million available.
Tampa Bay traded defenseman Mikhail Sergachev ($8.5 million cap hit) to the Utah Hockey Club and forward Tanner Jeannot ($2.665 million cap hit) to the Los Angeles Kings.
Jake Guentzel Was the Consensus No. 1 Free Agent
Jake Guentzel arrives in Tampa Bay with a large goalscoring track record, having recorded four seasons with 30 or more goals.
Guentzel spent the 2024 season between Pittsburgh and Carolina scoring 30 goals in 67 games, playing for both the Penguins and the Hurricanes. He already has won the Stanley Cup, which he did as a rookie in 2017.
Carolina could offer Guentzel one more year in term (eight instead of seven) than any other franchise thanks to having him on the roster at the time of the trade deadline.
According to “multiple sources” speaking to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman before the draft, Guentzel asked the Hurricanes for an eight-year contract worth $64 million, which they met on Thursday, June 27.
Chris Johnston and Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reported on June 29 that the Hurricanes, “as of Saturday afternoon, had not given up hope on re-signing Guentzel.”
At the end of the day, the Canes gave up and traded Guentzel’s rights.
Tampa Bay Could Lose Captain Steven Stamkos
Amid the news of Guentzel’s acquisition, there is speculation surrounding the future of Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos.
Stamkos will be an unrestricted free agent on Monday, July 1, and many had speculated that recent trades were aimed at clearing cap space to re-sign him. With Guentzel getting into Tampa Bay’s books, however, it looks like the Lightning are going younger and letting Stamkos walk.
Stamkos’ agent revealed the veteran would reach unrestricted free agency in July. “(Stamkos) will be a free agent on July 1,” Meehan texted insider Piere LeBrun on June 28.
Shortly after that, Lightning GM Julien BriseBois confirmed on Sunday, June 30, that the franchise and its captain had “agreed to get to July 1.”
Stamkos just completed the last of an eight-year, $68 million contract ($8.5 cap hit) signed on June 29, 2016.
Guentzel, being four years younger than Stamkos, could potentially fill the void left by the veteran forward and slot in the same line as center Brayden Point and right-wing Nikita Kucherov, filling the left-wing spot himself.