The Pittsburgh Penguins made a surprising run to the playoffs in 2025-26, but fell in the first round to the Philadelphia Flyers. Now, GM Kyle Dubas will look to improve the team. In his time with the Penguin, he has shown he is willing to trade just about anyone. It has previously been reported that Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell could be on the trade block.
Now, Josh Yohe of The Athletic is saying it might be time to trade Rakell and Rust.
Yohe prepared a list of trade candidates for the Pens, placing them in tiers. There was the “untouchable” division, which includes players such as Sidney Crosby and Sergei Murashov. The “almost untouchable” group came next with players like Ben Kindel. Then, there was the “unlikely” division, which included Erik Karlsson. The next tier was the “only in a blockbuster” group, which was players who would likely not be available unless getting a star in return. Finally, the “it might be time,” group came. Yohe started with Rakell.
“For the right price, he’s available,” Yohe wrote. “With two years remaining on his contract, he brings significant value with a $5 million cap hit. But he’s 33, and the Penguins badly want to find impactful younger players. He’s the kind of player who could theoretically fetch that. He’s very much available but won’t be given away on the cheap.”
Rakell is coming off another solid season. He played in just 60 games, but found the back of the net 24 times. It was the fourth time in the last five seasons he has scored 20 or more goals in a season. Meanwhile, Rust could also be moved.
“Rust is essentially in the same boat. He’s one of the more beloved teammates in franchise history and is pretty much good for an automatic 25 to 30 goals a season,” Yohe noted. “Dubas doesn’t want to trade him, but contending teams have wanted Rust for years and still do. The market stinks. If one team gets really ravenous for Rust and offers a significant package, Dubas will pull the trigger.”
Since the 2019-20 season, Rust has scored 20 or more goals in each season, while having 50 or more points in five of the seven seasons. While losing that production is not ideal, the Penguins want to make a push for this year, but with players like Evgeni Malkin having just a one-year deal, the Pens need to prepare for the future as well.
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