Whether or not any trade has been close to completion, Rickard Rakell’s name has often been in the chatter as an offseason trade possibility. That’s again this case on TSN, where Rakell comes in as a highlighted player around the league.
6. Rickard Rakell, Pittsburgh – LW
Rakell, 33, had 24 goals and 48 points in 60 games with the Penguins last season. He added a goal and four points in six playoff games as the Penguins fell in the first round to the Flyers.
The 6-foot-1 winger is entering the fifth season of a six-year, $30 million contract that carries an annual cap hit of $5 million.
The Penguins have been patient about holding onto Rakell, who is quite the asset on the ice. After producing 70 points in 2024-25, Rakell performed well again in 2025-26. He’s versatile enough to play all three forward positions, including an extended stint at center this past season. Add in a team-friendly cap hit and that’s a valuable player to have around.
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Yet the questions still swirl, which could have something to do with team makeup as well. Pittsburgh re-signed 40-year old Evgeni Malkin, Sidney Crosby turns 39 over the summer and Bryan Rust celebrated his 34th birthday last month. Add in Rakell, and that’s a mighty old nucleus of a top-six forward group.
The Pens don’t have a ton of other options, Egor Chinakhov has established himself, Tommy Novak is hanging around but prospects like Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen did not make tangible strides towards being plug-and-play in a huge NHL role next season.
That makes the idea of moving Rakell an alluring one, especially if the team’s initial outlook for 2026-27 didn’t include Malkin coming back. Moving on from Rakell now for younger assets and trying to target bringing in another forward (either directly in that transaction or by finding one elsewhere) could make sense in a team-building perspective.
The fallback of simply hanging onto a good player is a nice path to take too. Rakell is a player that is still going to help next season, if it comes to that.
