Guentzel cites Lightning's 'winning pedigree' as reason for signing

Jake Guentzel pointed to the Tampa Bay Lightning's status as perennial contenders as the primary factor in his decision to sign with his new club.

"They all know how to win," Guentzel told NHL.com's Jessi Pierce on Wednesday. "There's just a winning pedigree there. (And I) still feel like we have a chance to win."

The Lightning won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships in 2020 and 2021 and reached the final again in 2022. They were eliminated in the first round in both subsequent seasons, but they've made the playoffs in seven consecutive campaigns.

"There's a lot of high-end players, elite players on the team, and just an unbelievable opportunity for me and my family to go do something else on our own," Guentzel said. "It's going to be fun for us. It's going to be different, it's going to be challenging, but it's going to be something that we're looking forward to."

Guentzel won the Cup as a rookie with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017, helping his former squad repeat as champions themselves. The potent forward, who'll turn 30 around the time the 2024-25 season begins, produced at a high clip for the Carolina Hurricanes down the stretch of 2023-24 after being traded by the Penguins in March.

The American winger notched eight goals and 17 assists over 17 regular-season games with Carolina before adding four tallies and five helpers across 11 playoff contests.

He signed a seven-year, $63-million pact with the Lightning on July 1.

Tampa Bay lost longtime captain Steven Stamkos to the Nashville Predators in free agency, but the club still boasts the likes of Nikita Kucherov, Victor Hedman, Brayden Point, and Andrei Vasilevskiy.

"It's a new team, a new division, and a new opportunity," Guentzel said. "Last year was a really different year for me with injury and being traded and what not, but I learned a lot, too. I think heading into this season with Tampa is going to be really exciting just to see what we can manage to do together with all the high-end talent there is."

Guentzel was limited to 50 games with the Penguins this past season. However, he posted over a point per game with 22 goals and 30 assists before being dealt. Guentzel is a two-time 40-goal-scorer who buried 36 over 78 games in 2022-23.

He played parts of eight campaigns with Pittsburgh, which drafted him 77th overall in 2013.