During the summer the Penguins were rumored to be the only seller in the entire NHL. The Sharks, Blackhawks, and Predators were all believed to be buyers for various reasons, but the Penguins were believed to be the only team that wanted to strip it all down. Turns out, the Penguins didn’t really strip the roster of any pieces and enjoyed a great first 2.5 months of the season. The middle of December has hit the Penguins hard, winning only one game in their last ten. Any time there is losing, that brings about trade conversations. I personally will never entertain the trades of Evgeni Malkin or Sidney Crosby so that leaves me to wonder about Rikard Rakell and Bryan Rust. So should the Penguins trade Rust or Rakell at the deadline? I could make the simplest case as to why you don’t trade them; Crosby loves them as linemates and removing them could result in the doomsday scenario where he wants to leave. However, I am of the belief that there is nothing that can make Sid leave, he loves being a mentor to the young guys just as much as he loves Pittsburgh itself. There is a good case to make for one, maybe both Rust and Rakell to be moved. First, Sid’s line hasn’t been dominating this year. They have regularly struggled to keep opponents out of their own zone and have not created the 5 on 5 offense we are accustomed to seeing. Some of that could be injuries sustained by Rakell and Rust haven’t let them actually click on all cylinders all year. Rust is putting together a fine season offensively, as is Sid, mostly propped up by the power-play. However, you have an opportunity to trade one or both for a three-asset package deal. You could reasonably end up with three 1st round picks if you trade both of them.

Who to trade them to is the real question…

Rakell:

My preferred landing spot for Rakell would be Carolina or Ottawa. Carolina still has a cupboard full of great prospects and acquired picks for flipping Rantanen. The Pens could also take on a bigger return if they accept to take on Kotkaniemi’s contract. You could conceivably get Nadeau, Kotkaniemi, and a 1st. Nadeau could instantly slot in next to Kindel allowing Rutger to go play with Sid. You also have the option to send him to Ottawa. Something the Penguins pipeline is currently missing is defensemen. They have Bruincke who looks to be an NHLer but outside of that it’s relatively bleak. Sure; they like Kettles, Peddle, Harding, and Beauchesne but who knows what the real timelines or projections are for any of those guys. The Senators have a possible prized possession in the form of Carter Yakemchuk. Yakemchuk has 18 points in the AHL so far this season and has the makeup of an NHL ready guy. Granted, I don’t think Rakell has the solo value for Ottawa to ship out their best prospect so the Penguins would need to get creative in a deal, as well as take on an NHL contracted player to make all of the money work. Could the Penguins turn their attention towards a Ridly Greig instead of Yakemchuk? Possibly. Although, I think Ottawa is one of the few places where you could poach a young defender, maybe you can make the package bigger and acquire Greig too but unfortunately, I believe Karlsson would have to be going with Rakell in that scenario.

Rust:

Rust is the guy any team vying for the playoffs should want, he has constantly performed better with the lights the brightest, and he still nets 30 goals a season. His age, 33, may be a problem for some clubs but given his contract I feel like there would be plenty of suitors. Two teams I would start to investigate would be Minnesota and Buffalo. First, in Buffalo, they have been on a tear since firing their GM and the new GM has said he expects this group to play their way into the playoffs. If Buffalo is serious about that, they need to bring in a guy that will help them get there. I believe Rust is that guy. I also believe the Penguins have a unqiue opportunity with the Sabres. Former 1st overall pick Owen Power got a contract he didn’t necessarily deserve and has not played up to expectations putting him on the block. Say the Penguins decide to deal with Buffalo is it reasonable to send any of Kulak/Shea/Wotherspoon along with Rust for Power, Benson, and a pick? I feel like Buffalo would be enticed to do this because of their impending contract outlooks. In addition to Benson, they will need to give out deals to Tuch (pending he isn’t traded), Doan, Krebs, and Kesselring. The Sabres only have 21 million in cap space available to them next season, Tuch alone would eat up half of that. Moving out Power and bringing in Rust opens up roughly 3 million in cap space and they could internally replace Benson with Helenius or Ostlund. Benson and Power coming to Pittsburgh allows them to get younger and not necessarily any worse. Power could play on the second pair with Letang and Benson could slot right in with Sid or Geno in the top 6. I understand the unlikelihood of Buffalo being willing to part with Benson, but I think this is the type of trade that Dubas would command if he were to move Sid’s favorite linemate.

Minnesota is another team I have thought about only because they are obviously going for it after the Quinn Hughes trade. Guerin is very familiar, and loves, Rust after his time as an assistant GM in Pittsburgh. Where this deal likely falls flat is the fact Minnesota just traded every piece that would be interesting for the Penguins to explore. The wild don’t have a 1st or 2nd in the upcoming draft and traded several of their best young pieces in the Hughes trade. The Penguins would almost certainly need to acquire Charlie Stramel, David Jiricek, a 2027 pick, and a roster player to make the money work. I just don’t see a great fit there from the Penguins side of things. Jiricek could immediately find playing time on our roster and Dubas was interested in him last year but I don’t know if any of the other pieces would be enough to ship Rusty away from the Burgh. Minnesota is also in dire need of a center, Rust doesn’t help them in that regard, but I do believe Guerin cares more about quality of player over position. So, I have provided a lot of reasons why this trade partner doesn’t make sense, but I can just see these two teams linking up for a deal even if it’s something I would warn against. Billy G’s admiration for Rust and his desire to go all in could result in a trade coming to fruition.

Closing Thoughts:

I think you are better off to trade Rakell. Rust may be the more desired player around the league but his departure from the locker room may feel like a white flag is being raised. A Rakell trade could definitely be played off as a move that is not hurting the team too much now but improving them for the future. I would personally encourage Dubas to look at young defensemen in any deal involving Rakell, but similar to what I said about Minnesota’s thought process take quality over position. Moving either guy we have spoken about today would have a lot of fans thinking we are wasting the last year of Sid and Geno together and that might very well be true, but you have to build the team out for when they are gone. By the time next season rolls around, both Rust and Rakell may be gone but if you acquire the right assets, you may have put yourself in a significantly better place than if they remained in Pittsburgh.