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There have been whispers for weeks on end placing the Vancouver Canucks as one of the top suitors to land the best free agent of the 2024 class in Jake Guentzel.
According to the latest report shared by Josh Yohe of The Athletic, the Canucks have been “louder than others” in their pursuit of the Carolina Hurricanes forward in case he reaches the open market on July 1.
“There’s no question that Carolina is in the mix, but what if Tulsky and Guentzel’s agent, Ben Hankinson, can’t agree to a deal?” Yohe wondered, in a story published on June 28. “Other teams are lining up, one louder than the others. The Vancouver Canucks are eager to sign Guentzel and have made moves in recent days to clear salary for it.”
Guentzel is coming off scoring 30 goals and 77 points in 67 games combined for both the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Hurricanes. The pending free agent has racked up 227 goals and 491 points in 520 regular-season games during his career, winning the Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2017.
PuckPedia projects the Canucks to enter July 1 with nearly $13 million in cap space and 18 players signed. They have already agreed to terms with pending free agents Filip Hronek, Dakota Joshua, and Tyler Myers.
Guentzel completed a five-year, $30 million contract at the end of the 2024 season carrying a $6 million cap hit. AFPAnalytics projects the winger to sign a seven-year, $65 million contract with a cap hit north of $9.3 million per season.
Canucks’ Strategy to Acquire Guentzel
The Canucks completed a series of transactions leading up to the draft and free agency that could help them land Guentzel.
Vancouver agreed to an extension with three of their most important pending free agents Hronek, Myers, and Joshua. They also re-signed Teddy Blueger. Perhaps even more important was the salary-dump trade with the Chicago Blackhawks involving Ilya Mikheyev that allowed the Canucks to open $4 million in cap space.
“The Canucks would love to add Guentzel, a point-per-game player and one of the most prolific playoff goal scorers of his generation, to an already loaded top six that includes J.T. Miller, Elias Pettersson, and Brock Boeser,” Yohe wrote.
Before all of the re-signings and the aforementioned trade, Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff already reported the interest of the Canucks on June 18, naming Vancouver as a “strong” contender to land Guentzel.
“When the clock strikes 12 noon ET on (July 1), expect the Vancouver Canucks to make a strong play for pending free agent forward Jake Guentzel,” Seravalli wrote. “They won’t be alone – as there are more than a handful of teams expected to be in the mix for the Stanley Cup winning winger.”
Hurricanes Still Hoping to Re-Sign Jake Guentzel
Despite Vancouver’s reported interest, the Hurricanes remain actively engaged in negotiations with Guentzel. The Canes haven’t been able to reach an agreement with the forward but they hope to do so in the next few hours or days.
Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet appeared on the Pat McAfee ESPN show on June 28 and reported the figures Carolina is offering Guetnzel ahead of free agency.
“This morning, or sometime last night, the belief is Guentzel had an ask for Carolina which I have not confirmed, but I believe it’s eight times eight (eight-year, $64 million contract),” Friedman said. “And I think the Hurricanes have indicated they will do that. They have said to him, ‘We will do that, we will do that contract,’ and at this point in time, we’re waiting to see if it gets hammered out.”
Friedman, however, reported there are “some teams” that still believe he will reach the open market. The insider mentioned Tampa Bay Lightning as a potential suitor “waiting to see if it does happen, and if not, (they) and Vancouver will try to make their runs at Guentzel.
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