CRANBERRY TWP., PA (93.7 The Fan) – He was the Pens biggest chip at the trade deadline, 29 goals, three more years on his contract that is at an affordable rate. Not only was forward Rickard Rakell not traded, but it sounds like he might finish out his contract here.
It was the first question to Pens general manager Kyle Dubas after the trade deadline on Friday. With so many moves and seemingly beneficial returns for the sellers, why not move your best asset?
Dubas said the 31-year-old Rakell ‘is a big part of our program’.
He said they see not only the type of player he is, but the type of person. The Pens GM said you’ve seen the production, but there is more to Rakell that the team likes going forward. And not just during this current season, but during his time with the team. Currently Rakell does enjoy a situation where he is a winger for one of the best centers to ever play the game and he is benefitting from playing with Sidney Crosby.
“When you have players that perform that way in a game-in, game-out basis,” Dubas said. “That show the ability to respond when things don’t go well and then can propel themselves back into being near the top of the league and perform at that level…”
Then Dubas brought up what was expected to be the reason he was traded. It’s a 29-goal scorer making $5 million a year until the 2028-29 season. He said Rakell wants to be a part of this group, understanding the current situation going forward.
“They (Rakell and other veterans) want to be a part of the community,” Dubas said. “They want to be a part of the program. They know the path that we are on. They want to be a part of helping to bring the team back to contention.”
“I would say you don’t just push that out the door. You have to do what is right for the Pittsburgh Penguins and for us, having Rickard Rakell as a part of the Pittsburgh Penguins was definitely the right thing to do as we measured it against everything.”
“We are happy to have him. He’s a big part of what we want to do and he wants to be here.”