Guentzel’s name had been brought up in trade rumors since February, when Dubas said he could be dealt in order to add youth the Pittsburgh’s roster, which is the oldest in the NHL (30.8).
“Obviously, we didn’t do a good enough job handling a lot of that noise that’s going on around the team,” Penguins coach Mike Sullivan said following a 6-0 loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday. “Jake means an awful lot to these guys. When you win championships together, there’s a certain bond there that’s hard to put into words.”
Selected by the Penguins in the third round (No. 77) of the 2013 NHL Draft, Guentzel has 466 points (219 goals, 247 assists) in 503 regular-season games. He also has 58 points (34 goals, 24 assists) in 58 Stanley Cup Playoff games, including helping the Penguins win the Stanley Cup in 2017.
“He’s a great player, great teammate. A friend,” Penguins captain Sidney Crosby said. “I think he did everything he possibly could in his time here. Just a privilege to play with him for the course of that time. Great memories. It was just a privilege, like I said.”
Smith, who was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the first round (No. 17) of the 2018 NHL Draft, has 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in 51 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.
The 23-year-old has 47 points (eight goals, 39 assists) in 123 NHL games.
The Hurricanes (37-19-6), who defeated the Montreal Canadiens 4-1 on Thursday, are in second place in the Metropolitan Division, four points behind the New York Rangers.
“Jake is an elite goal-scorer and playmaker who has produced at a high level for his entire NHL career,” Hurricanes general manager Don Waddell said. “Ty is a young, offensive-minded defenseman who will provide us with another reliable option on the blue line. We’re thrilled to bolster our lineup as we compete to bring the Stanley Cup back to Raleigh.”
Bunting has 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) in 60 games this season, his first with the Hurricanes after signing a three-year, $13.5 million contract ($4.5 million AAV) on July 1.
Selected by the Arizona Coyotes in the fourth round (No. 117) of the 2014 NHL Draft, the 28-year-old forward has 162 points (70 goals, 92 assists) in 247 regular-season games with the Coyotes, Toronto Maple Leafs and Hurricanes. He also has five points (two goals, three assists) in 13 playoff games.
Ponomarev, who was selected by Carolina in the second round (No. 53) of the 2020 NHL Draft, has two points (one goal, one assist) in two NHL games this season. The 21-year-old also has 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists) in 41 American Hockey League games with Chicago and Tucson.
Koivunen, 20, was selected in the second round (No. 51) in the 2021 NHL Draft. He has 55 points (21 goals, 34 assists) in 57 games with Karpat in Liiga, Finland’s top professional league.
Lucius, 19, was selected in the fourth round (No. 124) of the 2022 NHL Draft. He leads the University of Wisconsin with 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists) in 32 games as a sophomore.
The Penguins (28-25-8) are in danger of missing the playoffs for the second straight season after qualifying in each of the previous 16. They are currently eight points behind the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning, who are tied for the first wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
NHL.com independent correspondent Wes Crosby contributed to this report
