Paul Bissonnette questions if Jake Guentzel will live up to $63,000,000 tag versus "team-friendly" Steven Stamkos deal

By Arnab Mondal

Modified Jul 03, 2024 12:02 GMT

Paul Bissonnette, on the "Spittin' Chiclets" podcast, questioned the value of Jake Guentzel's new seven-year, $63 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning compared to a potential Steven Stamkos extension. Bissonnette cited Elliotte Friedman's speculation of an eight-year, $8 million offer for Guentzel, suggesting Tampa's willingness to match competitive bids:

"And another thing I think that Elliotte talked about on '32 Thoughts' is I think it was an eight times eight number for Guentzel, and then that they were willing to match anyone."

Bissonnette acknowledged Jake Guentzel's playoff performance but questioned whether the $9 million average annual value might be excessive compared to what Stamkos could have offered on a team-friendly deal:

"For the difference of money that you're going to pay Guentzal versus what you would have paid Stammer, if you could have got him on a team-friendly deal, that would have been reasonable for the amount of point production, is it worth that $9 million and taking the risks that you're bringing in a new guy? ... So now your expectation is that you're hoping to get that from Guentzel."

Bissonnette highlighted the financial dynamics between teams, noting:

"Carolina is a little bit more on the frugal side ... Tampa was obviously on the rise and is still a very respectable organization who does have a lot of money."

This contrasts with the perceived affordability and reliability of a deal with Steven Stamkos, who recently signed a four-year, $32 million contract with the Nashville Predators after a strained negotiation period with Tampa Bay's management.

Stamkos expressed frustration over the handling of his contract negotiations, suggesting a communication breakdown contributed to his eventual departure. Chris Johnston from The Athletic detailed how the Lightning's best offer to Stamkos fell significantly short, around a $3 million AAV on an eight-year term, compared to the deal he ultimately secured with Nashville.

Bissonnette reflected on the perceived security of a familiar star like Stamkos with the potential and risks of investing in Jake Guentzel's future performance in a new team environment.

BriseBois praises Jake Guentzel as ideal addition to the Lightning

Tampa͏ Bay Lig͏htning general manager Julien BriseBoi͏s͏ is confident that Jake Guentzel ͏is the perfect addition to͏ the team. BriseBo͏is em͏p͏hasized Guentzel's compatibili͏ty with͏ ͏the͏ Lightning͏'s style and nee͏ds.

"In terms of fit for what we were looking for, Jake is probably as high of a perfect fit as we're going to find," BriseBois said. "Highly competitive, high hockey IQ, high level of skill, makes plays, competes all over the ice, makes play all over the ice, big-game player."

Reflecting on the signing, BriseBois expressed his belief in Guentzel's seamless integration into the team:

“He's a Bolt who happened to not have been playing for the Bolts in the past. Today we remedied that, and going forward he's going to play for the Lightning."

Jake Guentzel, who recorded 77 points (30 goals, 47 assists) ͏in 67 regular-season games last sea͏so͏n — ͏including 25 po͏ints ͏in 17͏ gam͏es with the Carolina Hur͏r͏ican͏es — is poised to make͏ a significant impact ͏w͏ith the Lig͏htning.͏