The usual cast of people is usually mentioned when talking about the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Players like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, Bryan Rust, and Tristan Jarry are popular in conversations regarding the Penguins. Even head coach Mike Sullivan’s name comes up a lot.
This is obviously with good reason. The people mentioned above are some of the main contributors to their Stanley Cup victories in 2016 and 2017 and are also part of the reason for the team’s success in most recent years.
One player who continues to fly under the radar for the Penguins is Jake Guentzel. Guentzel, 28, was a part of those Cup-winning teams, and since joining the league in the 2016-17 season, he has been one of the team’s best and most consistent players year in and year out.
For starters, Guentzel can score goals on a regular basis. He currently (Sunday, January 22) has 203 career goals and is a player that one can usually mark down for at least 20 goals every season.
Here are his goal-scoring totals since joining the NHL:
- 2016-17: 16 goals in 40 games
- 2017-18: 22 goals in 82 games
- 2018-19: 40 goals in 82 games
- 2019-20: 20 goals in 39 games
- 2020-21: 23 goals in 56 games
- 2021-22: 40 goals in 76 games
He is also putting the puck in the net with some regularity this season. He is second on the team with 20 goals and has put himself in a good position to crack 30 goals for the third time in his career this season.
Speaking of being able to put the puck in the net, Guentzel did a lot of that in both of their Cup-winning seasons in 2016 and 2017. He scored 13 goals in 2016, and he then scored ten goals in 2017.
In their seven-game loss to the New York Rangers in the first round of the playoffs last season, Guentzel was their best goal scorer. He scored eight goals on just 39 shots in the series.
Guentzel is also someone who comes up big for this team. He has 28 career game-winning goals, five of which have come this season.
In his first playoff experience in 2016, Guentzel scored five game-winning goals. Clearly, the moment was never too big for him.
Lastly, Guentzel is a player that helps Crosby. Crosby and Guentzel have been linemates for a long time, and they have had a lot of success together.
In Guentzel, Crosby has a guy that goes to the net, can deflect shots, can one-time passes, and score goals. He makes things easier for Crosby and helps to take some of the pressure off of him.
Guentzel has earned all the success he has had so far in his career. He works hard, he produces, he is not afraid to shoot the puck, he comes through in the clutch, and he bleeds black and gold.
The Penguins are lucky to have a player like Guentzel, a player that does everything and more.
