Lightning star Jake Guentzel takes subtle swipe at the Pittsburgh Penguins

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Tom Banks
July 18, 2024 (5:03 PM)

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Throughout his career, Jake Guentzel thrived in Pittsburgh alongside Sidney Crosby, but now he's taken a shot at his former team after signing in Tampa Bay.

After a stellar eight years with the Penguins, Jake Guentzel was traded at the 2024 trade deadline, but after failing in the playoffs, he swiftly departed Carolina, earning a rich deal worth $62 million from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Unsurprisingly, the thing that drew Guentzel to Tampa Bay was their recent success, as the team made three straight Stanley Cup Finals between 2020 and 2022, winning two of them.

"They all know how to win," Guentzel told NHL.com's Jessi Pierce on Wednesday. "There's just a winning pedigree there. (And I) still feel like we have a chance to win."

Had he left it there his interview would have been a non-story, but what happened next was surprising, as Guentzel took a subtle shot at the Penguins and the way they handled his future when he was with the team.

Jake Guentzel: «My intention was to stay. They thought there was a better direction.»

Ultimately, it wasn't a bad decision to depart Pittsburgh, as the team are hanging on with their star trio that led them to three Stanley Cups, but with the Lightning, he has a much better shot at a Stanley Cup.

Source: Hockey Trade Rumors
Jake Guentzel takes a shot at the Pittsburgh Penguins with recent comments