Jake Guentzel has been a great pickup for the Lightning

Since the Tampa Bay Lightning allowed longtime captain Steven Stamkos to walk in free agency, choosing instead to acquire then sign forward Jake Guentzel to a seven-year deal, $63 million contract, it’s been nothing short of success. Through 20 regular-season games, the 30-year-old has nine goals and 11 assists for 20 points, including a two-goal performance in Monday night’s 8-2 win against the Colorado Avalanche.

With Stamkos struggling with the lowly Nashville Predators, scoring just seven goals and four assists for 11 points through 22 games, it’s hard to see the Lightning regretting their decision. With an 11-7-2 record and 24 points, currently third in the Atlantic Division, Tampa is in a position to extend their playoff streak to eight straight years.

On Wednesday’s episode of Daily Faceoff LIVE, Frank Seravalli and Tyler Yaremchuk discuss Guentzel’s arrival in Tampa and if the club is glad they walked away from Stamkos when they did.

Tyler Yaremchuk: Do the Tampa Bay Lightning ask themselves, “Man, we’re glad we let Steven Stamkos walk when we did, it allowed us to sign Jake Guentzel,” who is a point-per-game guy. I know there’s a lot of emotions in that decision, but I’m sure Tampa is glad they did that.

Frank Seravalli: I think that’s totally fair, and by the way, it’s okay to say it out loud. Just like it was okay for Doug Armstrong to say out loud, “Hey Drew Bannister, thank you but we found someone better.” That’s part of what happens in life and sport and competition. I also wonder, though, if we’re being totally fair to Stamkos: without a transition, if he’s in a comfortable position, does he play as poorly as he has so far? I doubt it.

You can watch the full segment and the rest of the episode here…