After coming to Tampa Bay in the June 2024 trade, Jake Guentzel has been on fire. His seven-game scoring run moves closer to the team record, racking up 18 goals in just 29 games. The talented winger is scoring at a pace that could beat his personal best of 40 goals in a season. No NHL player since Ovechkin in 2005-06 has matched this kind of scoring start after joining a new team. During this red-hot seven-game stretch, the 29-year-old has netted nine goals while picking up 12 points. His biggest performance came in Calgary on Dec. 12, when he scored three times for a hat trick.

Numbers show his effectiveness, nine goals from prime scoring areas put him among the NHL’s best forwards in both shots and scoring efficiency. He’s been excellent on special teams too, scoring seven power-play goals this season.

His NHL career numbers are impressive: 491 points in 520 regular-season games. In playoff action, where it matters most, he’s scored 67 points in 69 games and won a Stanley Cup with Pittsburgh in 2017. In face-offs, he wins 52.2% of his draws. Though it’s a new responsibility, he’s adapted well to penalty-killing duties.

His game awareness and scoring ability work perfectly with his new linemates. When Point and Kucherov create opportunities, Guentzel finds the right spots to score.