When the Pittsburgh Penguins first brought Jake Guentzel to the NHL roster in November of 2016, it was because of injury.

Chris Kunitz, arguably the best winger the franchise had attached to franchise center Sidney Crosby up until that point, landed on injured reserve. His convalescence prompted management to summon Guentzel from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.

Over the next seven-plus years, it was Guentzel who became Crosby’s greatest running mate.

Oddly enough, Guentzel’s marvelous tenure with the organization has come to an end while he too is designated to injured reserve.

On Thursday night, the Penguins, with dwindling hopes of qualifying for the upcoming postseason, dealt Guentzel, a one-time All-Star and a two-time 40-goal scorer, along with defenseman Ty Smith to the Carolina Hurricanes.

In return, they received NHL winger Michael Bunting, forward prospects Ville Koivunen, Vasily Ponomarev and Cruz Lucius and conditional first-round and fifth-round picks in the 2024 draft.

As part of the transaction, the Penguins retained $1.5 million of Guentzel’s salary cap hit for the remainder of the season according to Cap Friendly.

Bunting is the most notable player the Penguins received, at least at the NHL level. A 28-year-old left winger, Bunting (6-foot, 192 pounds), has appeared in 60 games this season and has scored 36 points (13 goals, 23 assists) while averaging 15:07 of ice time.

Power play goal for Carolina!

Scored by Michael Bunting with 07:54 remaining in the 2nd period.

Assisted by Teuvo Teravainen and Brent Burns.

Carolina: 4Colorado: 2#COLvsCAR #CauseChaos #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/hHAZGYmh6b

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) February 9, 2024

Primarily deployed as a left winger on the Hurricanes’ second line this season, Bunting is in the first year of a three-year contract with a salary cap hit of $4.5 million. His contract contains a modified no-trade clause in which he can submit a list of 10 teams that he would not accept a trade to.

The left-handed Bunting previously played for Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs when Dubas was the general manager of that franchise.

Koivunen, 20, is currently playing for Karpat of the Liiga in his native Finland. In 57 games this season, he has 55 points (21 goals, 34 assists), sixth-most in that league. He is primarily deployed as a right winger.

???? Liekeissä: VILLE KOIVUNEN ????????

Hattutemppu täyteen avauserään! ????

???? @MTVUrheilu | #Liiga #Kärpät @OulunKarpatFi pic.twitter.com/YUQMAOKgmn

— Liiga (@smliiga) January 3, 2024

A second-round pick (No. 51 overall) in the 2021 NHL Draft, Koivunen (5-foot-11, 161 pounds) is signed to a three-year entry-level contract which carries a salary cap hit of $805,883. A left-handed shot, he has yet to play in the NHL.

Ponomarev, a 21-year-old native of Russia, has spent most of the season at the AHL level with the Chicago Wolves. In 41 AHL games this season, he has scored 29 points (eight goals, 21 assists).

Vasily Ponomarev fires one into the back of the net to extend our lead. pic.twitter.com/T1P2n4Ldhj

— Chicago Wolves (@Chicago_Wolves) January 24, 2024

A left-handed shot, Ponomarev made his NHL debut this season, appearing in two games for the Hurricanes and posting two points (one goal, one assist).

Carolina goal!

Scored by Vasily Ponomarev with 00:59 remaining in the 3rd period.

Assisted by Jesperi Kotkaniemi.

Washington: 2Carolina: 6#CARvsWSH #ALLCAPS #CauseChaos pic.twitter.com/R65W2kEPtw

— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) January 6, 2024

Primarily utilized as a center, Ponomarev (5-foot-10, 180 pounds) is in the second year of a three-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $795,000. He was a second-round pick (No. 53 overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft.

A native of Lawrence, Kan. who grew up in Grant, Minn., the 19-year-old Lucius was a fourth-round pick (No. 124) in the 2022 NHL Draft. Currently a sophomore with Wisconsin at the NCAA level, the right-handed Lucius has appeared in 32 games this season and leads that team with 31 points (12 goals, 19 assists).

Cruzin' into the 2nd period tied 1-1 ????

Lucius connects with De St.Phalle to sneak one past the Gophers ???? pic.twitter.com/tZd9x7qTIk

— Wisconsin Hockey (@BadgerMHockey) February 11, 2023

A fourth-round pick (No. 124) overall in 2022, Lucius (6-foot, 178 pounds) has yet to sign an NHL contract. His NHL rights are scheduled to expire Aug. 15, 2026.

Per TSN, the conditions on each draft pick the Penguins received call on the Hurricanes to enjoy considerable success this upcoming postseason.

Regarding the 2024 first-round selection, if the Hurricanes do not reach the Stanley Cup Final this spring, the Penguins will instead receive the Philadelphia Flyers’ second-round pick in this year’s draft that was previously acquired by the Hurricanes.

As for the fifth-round pick in 2024, the Penguins will not receive that selection if the Hurricanes fail to win the Stanley Cup.

According to Cap Friendly, the Penguins are now $2.275 million over the salary cap following this transaction and will need to make additional maneuvers — such as further trades — in order to be compliant with the league’s salary cap ceiling of $85.5 million by 5 p.m. Friday.

Additionally, the Penguins now have 48 players under contract for the current season, two short of the league’s limit of 50.

Guentzel, 29, is in the final year of a five-year contract with a salary cap hit of $6 million. In 50 games this season, he has 52 points (22 goals, 30 assists) while averaging 20:53 of ice time per contest. An undisclosed injury he suffered Feb. 14 landed him on long-term injured reserve.

“He’s a great player, great teammate, a friend,” Crosby said following a 6-0 home loss to the Washington Capitals on Thursday. “Did everything he possibly could in his time here. Just privileged to play with him for the course of that time. Some great memories. It was just a privilege, that’s all I can say.”

A member of the franchise’s most recent Stanley Cup championship in 2017, the left-handed Guentzel joined the Penguins as a third-round draft pick (No. 77 overall) in 2013.

After making his NHL debut in the fall of 2016, he became a vital component of the team’s successful pursuit of a second consecutive championship in the spring of 2017.

During the 2017 postseason, Guentzel set or tied a handful of rookie scoring records while establishing himself as Crosby’s left winger.

Usually deploying a frugal economy of words when explaining his success, Guentzel’s explanation of his chemistry with Crosby was usually curt.

“We kind of read off each other and I know he’s such a good playmaker,” Guentzel said in December. “I just try to find those soft areas for him.

“That’s just kind of what I’m used to with him.”

Over parts of eight seasons, Guentzel (5-11, 180 pounds) appeared in 503 career games with the Penguins and scored 466 points (219 goals, 247 assists), 11th-most in franchise history.

While certainly a prolific goal-scorer, Guentzel wasn’t exactly blessed with a signature way of scoring them the way Crosby did with backhanders or forward Evgeni Malkin did with one-timers.

Guentzel just sort of “collected” goals.

“You’ve got to find different ways to score in this league,” Guentzel said in March of 2021. “However you can get it, you take it. A lot of goals are around the front of the net. Just find different ways and try to get your shots off.”

The Hurricanes and Guentzel are scheduled to face the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on March 26.

Smith was acquired via trade with the New Jersey Devils in July of 2022 in an ill-fated deal that sent steady defenseman John Marino to the Garden State.

Smith, a member of the NHL’s all-rookie team in 2020-21 while with the Devils, rarely played at the NHL level for the Penguins, appearing in only nine games during the 2022-23 season, posting four points (one goal, four assists).

After re-signing with the Penguins this past offseason, agreeing to a one-year deal worth $775,000, Smith, 23, was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton fairly early in training camp and spent the entire 2023-24 season to date with that team.

He is currently Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s leading scorer with 32 points (nine goals, 23 assists) in 51 games.

Smitty gets us back on the board! pic.twitter.com/cAAFcYJlvi

— Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins (@WBSPenguins) February 17, 2024

The left-handed Smith (5-11, 180 pounds) is scheduled to become a restricted free agent this upcoming offseason and is eligible for arbitration.

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