The Washington Capitals reportedly have interest in one of the top players scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
Per the Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli, the Capitals will be one of a handful of teams trying to get former Pittsburgh Penguins winger Jake Guentzel to sign on the dotted line once he becomes a UFA for the first time in his career. Servalli also mentions the Vancouver Canucks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Florida Panthers, and New York Rangers as potential suitors.
Guentzel ranks third among scheduled free agents in scoring after recording 77 points (30g, 47a) in 67 games for the Penguins and Carolina Hurricanes. Only Steven Stamkos (81 points) and Sam Reinhart (94 points) rank ahead of him. The 29-year-old winger has averaged 35 goals and 78 points over the past three seasons.
After being drafted by the Penguins in the third round of the 2013 NHL Draft, Guentzel spent parts of eight seasons in Pittsburgh and was on Pittsburgh’s 2016-17 Stanley Cup-winning team. He was dealt to the Hurricanes at last season’s trade deadline. The Penguins sent Guentzel and defenseman Ty Smith to Carolina for Michael Bunting, Vasili Ponomarev, Cruz Lucius, Ville Koivunen, and a 2024 second-round pick.
Seravalli states that Guentzel is likely to command a seven-year contract which will take him through his age 37 season at or above a $9.2 million annual cap hit. He also reports that the Hurricanes have let teams know they are willing to work out a sign-and-trade so a team can get him on a maximum eight-year term in exchange for a mid-round draft pick. The latter deal would lower his cap hit.
The Capitals already kicked off their offseason in a big way by dealing goaltender Darcy Kuemper to the Los Angeles Kings for forward Pierre-Luc Dubois. Washington isn’t expected to stand pat there though as Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman revealed Saturday that he expects the Capitals to stay “very busy” this offseason.
After the addition of Dubois, Washington is projected by CapFriendly (they also bought CapFriendly) to have $12.935 million in cap space. The figure includes Nicklas Backstrom’s $9.2 million cap hit on LTIR and an additional $3.735 million in cap room. The Capitals have two restricted free-agent, NHL roster players — Connor McMichael and Beck Malenstyn — that still need new deals.
Washington has questionable depth on the wing headed into the 2024-25 season given the question marks surrounding 37-year-old TJ Oshie. Oshie is weighing retirement this summer after a fourth straight injury-plagued year. Guentzel would provide an upgrade on Oshie in the team’s top-six forward group and if TJ does opt to LTIR out, the Capitals could also utilize his $5.75 million cap hit.
Caps general manager Brian MacLellan has been open about his desire to add offense on the wings of his team. Guentzel provides an opportunity to do so without the team needing to give up any assets other than salary cap space.
