Pittsburgh Penguins could trade Rickard Rakell before deadline, but will Kyle Dubas pull the trigger? | NHL News

The Pittsburgh Penguins are at a breaking point. Sitting at 24-28-9, they’re second-worst in the Eastern Conference, barely ahead of the Buffalo Sabres. The playoffs are slipping away, and Sidney Crosby is staring down a third straight season without postseason hockey. Something has to give.
Rickard Rakell is their best trade chip. He leads the Penguins with 25 goals and ranks second in points with 49. By season’s end, he’s on pace for 33 goals and 66 points—numbers that make him one of the most appealing trade targets on the market.
His contract makes things interesting. Rakell, 31, carries a $5 million cap hit through 2027-28. That’s not cheap, but it’s manageable for a top-six winger. The issue? He has an eight-team no-trade list. That limits Pittsburgh’s options, but not enough to kill the idea of a deal.
Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette put it plainly:
“Rakell’s trade value probably won’t get any higher than it is right now, so Dubas would be wise to keep picking up the phone and see if somebody blows him away. If a team will top that Pettersson package, that could be hard for him to turn down.”
Dubas has already started selling. Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor were shipped off to Vancouver, showing that Pittsburgh is open for business. Whether Rakell follows depends on the offers that roll in before March 7.

Sidney Crosby is running out of time, and Pittsburgh Penguins are wasting what’s left of his prime

Sidney Crosby has done everything for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Three Stanley Cups. Two Hart Trophies. Countless moments that defined an era. Now, at 37, he’s leading a team that isn’t built to win. The Penguins have been treading water for years, hoping Crosby could carry them just a little longer. It’s not working.
The team is nine points out of a wild card spot. They’ve lost four of their last five games. Their biggest rivals, the Washington Capitals, are thriving. And unless something drastic changes, Pittsburgh is heading for an early offseason yet again.
Crosby will never ask for a trade, but at some point, missing the playoffs year after year could make early retirement look appealing. If that happens, the blame lands squarely on Kyle Dubas. This team had years to retool around Crosby. Instead, they’re stuck in limbo—too bad to contend, too stubborn to rebuild.
Pittsburgh is running out of time. The question is whether they realize it before it’s too late.
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