The Pittsburgh Penguins were never going to win a Jake Guentzel trade at the deadline.
At least not in the short term. Probably not in the long term, either. It isn't because anybody was going to do anything wrong, but because sellers simply don't win deadline deals. Not with rentals, even if the rental you're trading is a top-line winger and an elite goal-scorer.
Contenders are not going to give up significant pieces off of their roster. They're not going to part with top prospects or key young players for a few months of a player. If you get a first-round pick, it's probably going to be at the back-end of the first-round where you might have a 50-50 chance of even getting somebody that becomes an NHL regular.