TAMPA, Fla. — Few players had a better view of Sidney Crosby during Jake Guentzel’s eight seasons in Pittsburgh.

Even Guentzel, Crosby’s longtime left wing and dressing room neighbor, can’t believe what he’s seeing — Crosby scoring 18 goals in 25 games and pacing for 59 in his age-38 season.

“It’s remarkable,” Guentzel said Thursday morning after his Tampa Bay Lightning skated at Benchmark International Arena. “You’re kind of surprised every year, then he does it the next year.

“You’re just in awe of him at this point. We all seeing it. We’re all watching it. You just can’t understand how he continues to do it at a high level each year. It’s been cool to watch.”

Guentzel, of course, has been plenty productive himself. The 31-year-old scored a career-high 41 goals with Tampa Bay last season, his first 40-plus goal season since having that many for the Penguins in 2021-22.

With nine goals and 14 points in his past 12 games prior to Thursday’s matchup against the Penguins, Guentzel touched on a variety of topics, including the work of Crosby and Evgeni Malkin in their late 30s.

“For me, you see those guys firsthand, and you know the work they put into it,” Guentzel said. “Nothing really surprises me now. But at their age, what they’ve been through, it’s pretty remarkable.”

This will mark Guentzel’s fifth game against his former team. He has three assists against his former team but has yet to find the back of the net.

Yes, that eats at Guentzel, although he maintained the obvious — that it’s secondary to team success.

“I’ve thought about it,” said Guentzel, who has 14 goals and 27 points in 26 games this season. “First and foremost, you want to win. Obviously it would be nice to be able to score the first one.”

This represents Guentzel’s second season with the Lightning after he signed a seven-year, $63 million extension with them on July 1, 2024. Jake and his wife, Natalie, have two kids — ages 7 months and 3 1/2 years — and have finally been able to set down roots here.

First-world problems, sure. But there’s some stability after playing for Pittsburgh and Carolina during the 2023-24 season, as well as motivation given Tampa Bay’s recent success.

Since Guentzel broke into the NHL in 2016, nobody has more wins (442) or points (944) than his current employer. (The Penguins, Lightning and Florida Panthers have all won the Stanley Cup twice.)

“This place is top-notch, with me and my family,” Guentzel said. “The organization here is unbelievable. It’s easy for the kids and the wife, which makes it easier on the ice. We love everything about it here. We’re happy.”

It’s wild to think about for Penguins fans.

It wasn’t long ago Guentzel was making his debut, when he was the organization’s Ben Kindel and considered a key part of the future. Now, he’s in his 10th NHL season, something Jake said Natalie brought up recently, the two just shaking their heads.

It’s the same for Guentzel’s good buddy Bryan Rust, who was waiting — soccer ball in hand — down the hall as Guentzel spoke. They remain close, the same as Crosby, everyone all in the same text thread that apparently gets a lot of traffic.

Guentzel hopes he’ll be seeing more of Rust with Team USA for the Olympics.

With 20-plus goals each of the past six seasons and a career-high 31 last year, Rust would be a smart choice. It’ll also help that Bill Guerin and Mike Sullivan have prominent roles picking the team.

But Guentzel, who’s an easy choice to go to Milan, Italy, had no problem stumping for the selection of Rust — and he’s right.

“He doesn’t get as much credit as he deserves,” Guentzel said. “He can play in all situations. In those tournaments, that’s what you need, guys to play different roles.

“I love Rusty. I think he’s an unbelievable player. I would definitely vouch for him because he does it all. He probably doesn’t want to hear me say that, but yeah. He’s just a great guy.”