The Top Players to Replace Jake Guentzel Have Been Revealed
A recent article for The Hockey Writers reveals the top players who can replace Jake Guentzel while he is sidelined at the start of the year.
The Top Guentzel Replacements Revealed
In a recent article for The Hockey Writers, Sylvie McCarthy writes about who are the top candidates to replace Jake Guentzel this upcoming season.
While the candidates are all within Pittsburgh's system, they could do a fantastic job of playing alongside Sidney Crosby up until the Guentzel heals up.
McCarthy mentions Drew O'Connor, Alex Nylander, and Reilly Smith all as potential replacements for Guentzel at the start of the season.
Who Would Be The Best?
It comes between two players, Alex Nylander and Reilly Smith.
Smith is established at the NHL level and is coming off a 26-goal campaign that saw him score 56 total points. While this is not the star production Jake Guentzel has, it is certainly solid and he would be a fantastic compliment to Crosby.
However, Alex Nylander would be a gamble. He has yet to establish himself at the NHL like his brother William but he could prove to be a valuable player if given the right opportunity. Playing the majority of last season in the AHL, Nylander led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins in points per game amongst players to play at least 25 AHL games.
He got a short stint in the NHL last season but looked quite impressive and if given the proper shot on the top line with Sidney Crosby, Nylander could finally realize his true potential.
Nonetheless, the Penguins will have a dilemma at who should replace Guentzel at the start of the season. Once Guentzel returns, the slotting of all of these players becomes uncertain.
As seen on The Hockey Writers - 3 Players the Penguins Can Use to Replace Guentzel
| POLL | ||
Who should the Penguins use to replace Guentzel? | ||
| Reilly Smith | 299 | 39.9 % |
| Alex Nylander | 269 | 35.9 % |
| Other | 181 | 24.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
