NHL trade grades: Hurricanes push chips all-in with Jake Guentzel; Penguins take first step toward rebuild

The Hurricanes made a massive improvement to their forward group

By Chris Bengel Mar 8, 2024 at 11:22 am ET• 5 min read

The Carolina Hurricanes made it perfectly clear that they're making their Stanley Cup push with the acquisition of star forward Jake Guentzel in a trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins acquired forwards Michael Bunting, Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev and Cruz Lucius, a conditional 2024 first-round pick and a conditional 2024 fifth-round pick. 

The Hurricanes will send a 2024 first-round pick to the Penguins if Carolina makes it to the Stanley Cup Final. It will become a 2024 second-round pick if the Hurricanes don't reach the Stanley Cup Final. The Penguins will receive an additional 2024 fifth-round pick if Carolina wins the Stanley Cup.

The Penguins will also retain 25% of Guentzel's salary.

The Hurricanes had a chance to upgrade their forward group in a move that could potentially put them over the top this season. Even though Guentzel is an unrestricted free agent this summer, the reward far outweighs the risk in this particular scenario.