According to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff, the Vancouver Canucks are expected to make a big push to sign forward Jake Guentzel once the unrestricted free agent market opens at noon ET on July 1st.
Seravalli added that sources have told him that the Vancouver Canucks may be the best option for Jake Guentzel in terms of money and opportunity. He mentioned that the current Canucks' brass of Jim Rutherford and Patrik Allvin are very familiar with Jake Guentzel from their time together with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Rick Tocchet also knows Guentzel very well, serving as an assistant coach with Pittsburgh while the pending UFA was there.
Guentzel, 29, was on Vancouver's radar before the trade deadline in March, but he ultimately was dealt to the Carolina Hurricanes by Pittsburgh. In 67 games this season between Pittsburgh and Carolina, Guentzel had 77 points (30 goals, 47 assists), 22 penalty minutes and was a plus-25. He added nine points in 11 games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs with Carolina.
