Mock Trades: Where can the Penguins deal Rickard Rakell?

Rickard Rakell has turned things around after his awful 2023-24 season. This year he's already surpassed last season's goals and points total (23 goals, 17 assists).

The 31 year-old veteran has re-established his trade value that resembles the type of season he had with Pittsburgh in 2022. He's still controllable for another three years at the conclusion of this season at a consistent $5M cap hit.

With Kyle Dubas rumored to want to move pieces even before this year's trade deadline, here are a few potential moves the Penguins could make if Rakell is involved in those conversations. It's up in the air whether the Penguins should wait until the offseason, but if they don't, these are the returns we'd like to see.

The Flames are a restless organization that currently finds themselves in a Wild Card spot in the Western Conference. Their prospect system ranks in the upper-middle echelon in the NHL, so they have assets to deal.

Zayne Parekh is an 18 year-old offensively minded defenseman that's been tearing up the CHL.

This connection is hard to gauge. Parekh might not be movable in the eyes of the Flames, but with the addition of Rakell, they would have the true goal scorer they've been lacking this season. Additionally, if the Penguins decide to trade Erik Karlsson, Parekh would naturally fill his profile - just 16 years younger.

Rakell's control is what makes this deal more realistic for the Flames. They might be willing to give up a highly sought after prospect with their possibility of winning now and in the coming years.

This one might be a stretch, but there's no reason to rule it out.

The Kings are comfortably in a playoff spot in the Western Conference, but they share similar problems as the Flames in that they are restless for playoff success.

Los Angeles is bottom quartile in the league in goals scored, and if they want to take advantage of their incredible defensive structure, they need a goal scorer like Rakell.

As we saw in the game against them on Monday, when they get down early, they aren't in much position to come back.

Jakub Dvorak is Los Angeles' 7th ranked prospect and plays a great defensive game. He plays a very physical brand of hockey that would bode well for Pittsburgh's defensive desires in the future.

Dvorak might not be the flashiest prospect, but add on a second round pick in the deal and this one seems a bit more likely than the one with Calgary.

Here's the home run ball that could mimic the haul that Jake Guentzel returned last season.

The Canadiens have a top three prospect pool in the NHL, and now they're finally starting to see the success translate to the NHL level. They're finally in a playoff spot and they're streaking right now.

Similarly to the Guentzel deal the Hurricanes were in all-in mode and gave up a haul of mid-tier prospects and a draft pick. Each of the three prospects the Penguins would get back from Montreal are in the bottom half of their top 15 prospects (based on their preseason rankings).

This could be tantalizing for the Canadiens with both Engstrom and Kidney being backed up by the talent pool in the system. They're almost excess goods that the Canadiens might be willing to part with to acquire a veteran goal scorer who has playoff experience.

Playoff experience can't be undermined when it comes to Rickard Rakell. He had an incredible run in 2017 with the Ducks with 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in 15 games.

The Canadiens' power play is in the bottom half in the league despite the scoring they have. Rakell could boost that in a big way to make them a real threat in the playoffs.

These deals are all theorized with the idea that Rakell would be traded in the coming weeks or even days. To warrant these returns, taking advantage of Rakell's value right now is the key.

The question remains, though: Should the Penguins even trade Rakell? Weigh in with your thoughts on Twitter/X @PensLabyrinthFS. Who would you take in a package?