Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes about Pittsburgh Penguins forward Rickard Rakell and what the team might do with the 31-year-old as they approach the NHL Trade Deadline. Rakell is generating trade interest thanks to a terrific bounce-back season that has seen him tally 25 goals and 23 assists in 56 games. The Sundbyberg, Sweden native was an afterthought earlier in the year when it came to Sweden’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster, but played his way onto the team late as injuries and a strong season opened the door for him to join his countrymen.
It’s quite the story, given that a year ago, many people in the hockey community were looking at Rakell’s contract as a problem for the Penguins. Now, a year later, his $5MM cap hit is looking pretty good, even if it does carry him for another three seasons until he is 34.
Yohe believes that the Penguins would be open to trading Rakell if a team offers up a first-round pick and a prospect that is close to being NHL-ready. That being said, Pittsburgh is also open to holding onto him if they aren’t blown away by the trade offers they receive.
Rakell has played exclusively with Crosby this season and has developed excellent chemistry with him and Bryan Rust. If the Penguins were to trade Rakell, it would mark the second consecutive season they have dealt Crosby’s preferred winger after the team traded Jake Guentzel last March.
While a Rakell trade is possible, Yohe believes that the Penguins will probably hold onto him and perhaps see if his value is higher in the summer when the salary cap increases. The Penguins have good reasons to keep the six-time 20-goal scorer, but with their eyes set on a quick roster retool, trading Rakell could go a long way to acquiring valuable assets to turn things around in a hurry.