Two Pittsburgh Penguins Players Are as Good as Gone, According to The Athletic
Two members of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization are "as good as gone", according to a new report from The Athletic.
It hasn't been a secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins have been struggling immensely this season. Not only are they dead last in the Metropolitan Division with a 10-12-4 record, but they have one of the worst goal differentials of the League, with -28.
With nothing changing in the team's results, general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas is poised to make big moves soon.
According to Josh Yohe of The Athletic, two players will be out of the organization soon: Marcus Pettersson and Rickard Rakell.
In Yohe's words:
"Marcus Pettersson
Everyone in the organization loves Pettersson, and for good reason. He's a good, top-four defenseman and he's also a quality human. Of course, he doesn't have a no-trade clause and he's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
He could bring back a serious return - at least a second-round pick, maybe more. It will be a sad day for many to see him go, but it's inevitable.
Rickard Rakell
I wouldn't have had him on this list a few months ago because of his poor 2023-24 season. Rakell is back to looking like himself this season and given his contract, the Penguins would be wise to move on.
There figures to be a taker out there. Everyone wants a top-six winger. I don't think the return would be huge, but the Penguins could likely get something for him. To get out of his contract would be significant."
Everyone in the organization loves Pettersson, and for good reason. He's a good, top-four defenseman and he's also a quality human. Of course, he doesn't have a no-trade clause and he's scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent on July 1.
He could bring back a serious return - at least a second-round pick, maybe more. It will be a sad day for many to see him go, but it's inevitable.
Rickard Rakell
I wouldn't have had him on this list a few months ago because of his poor 2023-24 season. Rakell is back to looking like himself this season and given his contract, the Penguins would be wise to move on.
There figures to be a taker out there. Everyone wants a top-six winger. I don't think the return would be huge, but the Penguins could likely get something for him. To get out of his contract would be significant."
Pettersson is in the final year of his $4 million AAV contract and could generate an interesting return to Pittsburgh.
This season, in 26 games, the 28-year-old defenseman scored 10 points, including one goal, with a -8 rating.
As for Rakell, he could be a bit harder to trade out of Pittsburgh considering the three seasons left on his $5 million AAV deal.
Despite the team's struggles, Rakell has been playing well, scoring 15 points in 26 games this season.
His value is high, but the Pens will likely need to retain his salary to ship him to another organization for an interesting return.
It'll be interesting to see what Dubas does with them but don't be surprised if they end up being traded soon, especially with all the players reportedly targeted by the management.
| POLL | ||
Do you think Kyle Dubas will trade both Rikard Rakell and Marcus Pettersson before the deadline? | ||
| Yes | 76 | 74.5 % |
| No | 26 | 25.5 % |
| List of polls | ||
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