3 reasons Jake Guentzel would be an outstanding addition for the Oilers

Per The Fourth Period, the Edmonton Oilers could be linked to arguably the hottest trade piece of the 2024 trade deadline season, Jake Guentzel. Guentzel, who remains on injured reserve, should return around the March 8th deadline, so expect a lot of contenders to try and pull off a blockbuster deal for one of the Pittsburgh Penguins star players. 

It won’t be easy for the Oilers to find a way to get Guentzel into their lineup considering current cap restraints, but by adding a player like Cody Ceci into either a deal for Guentzel or in a separate trade, Edmonton could free enough cap space to fit him onto the team now, then work toward an extension following the season. 

At age 29, he also has quite a few good seasons of hockey left. And to potentially put Guentzel onto the ice long-term with Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, Edmonton would have three star players to continually build around for at least the foreseeable future, so that alone makes him worth pursuing. 

The Oilers must compete to land Jake Guentzel at the 2024 trade deadline

If the Penguins field serious offers for Guentzel, expect the Oilers to face plenty of competition should they join the sweepstakes. There are quite a few teams out there who would be good fits for the 29-year-old, and Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas will demand a lot of compensation for arguably his best player not named Sidney Crosby. 

The Oilers have most of their pieces in place to make multiple runs to the Western Conference Championship, something that first occurred this decade in 2022. But it’s also clear that one more star-caliber player will put them over the top, and it’s just one of three reasons why Guentzel would be so valuable to Edmonton for the rest of 2024 and perhaps throughout the decade.