3 reasons why the Canucks must trade for Jake Guentzel at the deadline

Jake Guentzel’s scoring ability would have Vancouver running away with games

With 22 goals, Jake Guentzel has been a sound scorer for a hockey team that hasn’t done a good job with finding the back of the net in 2023-24. Even with a team that hasn’t played well when in the offensive zone, it also shows us that Guentzel has barely lost a step in the process. 

Those 22 goals in 50 contests would put him on pace for 36 throughout an 82-game span had he stayed healthy all season. Looking at Guentzel’s recent numbers, he put up 36 just a season ago for a team that was a solid playoff contender for most of the year until a late collapse denied the Penguins. 

In 2021-22, Guentzel had his most productive season with 40 goals and 84 points, and that was on a much better but still unspectacular Penguins team. So imagine what a player in his prime could do on a Canucks team that currently ranks first in the NHL with 218 goals. 

Even if Guentzel were to be one-and-done in Vancouver, trading for him would make sense based on his ability to score or to make plays that will put others in scoring position. For such a high-scoring team like Vancouver, adding another offensive talent to the mix would create nightmares for opponents.