The free agent market for a top-six forward is pretty bare, so teams could call the Pittsburgh Penguins to see what they have available
SDPN: (YouTube) Chris Johnston and Julian McKenzie on The Chris Johnston Show talking about the Pittsburgh Penguins and two of their forwards – Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell – who are getting some trade interest.
** NHLRumors.com transcription
Julian McKenzie: “Let’s flashback to a couple of days ago. You sent out this tweet, ‘Something to keep an eye on once Nikolai Ehlers makes his free agent decision, there’s a sense it could spur trade activity among the teams who fall short in their pursuit of the talented winger.
Since that tweet, Nikolai Ehlers has joined the Carolina Hurricanes. So what does that mean for trades, CJ?
Johnston: “Well, what it means is that obviously only one team, the Hurricanes, in this case, could get Ehlers. And there are many teams out there that are still looking for, I’d call it sort of top-six offensive help in their lineup.
And so now that the market resets. And you know, we’re just coming through the July 4 long weekend in the US, not a lot of hockey-related business being done, probably not a lot of business of any type being done over the weekend south of the border.
But certainly, as we get into this week, I do think it’s something to watch out for. And you know, to me, a team to really keep an eye on is the Pittsburgh Penguins, because they have two such players that fit the bill, potentially, that I think Pittsburgh would move on from. That being Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust.
Brian Rust, as of July 1st lost some no-trade, no-move protection in his contract, so he’s becomes more movable as an asset. And of course, Rakell was a player the Penguins had discussions on, you know, leading up to the trade deadline. Elected to keep him at that time. But, you know, is someone that is known to be available around the league.
And so, you know, Pittsburgh, I think, is in a pretty good spot here, in the sense that they truly are one of the only teams that I think are not trying to win a Stanley Cup next year. Or not trying to take a meaningful jump in the standings.
So they, they have the ability, they don’t have a lot of competition, I’d say in terms of, you know, other teams selling those types of players and and, you know, they’ve, they’ve established a high price on them. And so, you know, I don’t know, you know who’s going to step up and meet that just yet, or where that’s going to go, but I do think that they’re kind of at the Nexus now as we’re looking to the next things.
I mean, there’s, certainly, there’s a few players remaining on the free agent list that don’t have contracts, but, you know, I think a lot of teams that are looking for more impactful players still at this stage of the summer are going to focus their their, you know their attentions on the trade market.
McKenzie: “Richard Rakell, at $5 mill in a rising cap environment. A guy who’s able to hit 30 goals a season. That doesn’t sound bad to me, if I’m a GM looking for, for scoring along the wing.
I know Brian Rust, obviously, with the experience of the last few years, being a part of a whole bunch of cup runs with Sidney Crosby, but Richard Rakell, for me, I’d love to have that player in my lineup if I could afford it.
Johnston: “For sure. And he’s coming off a great season. You know, which is, again, I think, bolsters the market for Kyle Dubas, as he, you know, takes those, those kind of phone calls from his colleagues around the league.
And, and, you know, he helped firm at the deadline. I mean, there was certainly a lot of teams poking around Rakell leading up to March 7th, and ultimately, Pittsburgh decided not to move on from him.
And you know, the Penguins now have had kind of, what I’d call a busy free agent period this I know a lot of players the short-term deals. Basically taking some bets on, on, on guys that you know, maybe their stock isn’t the highest. I think of some like Anthony Mantha, for example, getting a one year deal there in Pittsburgh. You know, trying to try to uncover a few players that are going to be bouncing back this year, and then maybe that’s given them an ability to trade off, to roster even more and cut deeper.
Because you’re right. Rakell signed for a few more seasons too, which I think would hold appeal to someone giving up a lot for him.
Rust is a really interesting player. I mean, he was a big part of those 2016 and 2017 Cup wins. That would be an even more emotional type of trade, I would say, for the Penguins, just because he’s been around so long. He’s been a line mate quite often, of Sidney Crosby’s.
And, you know, he’s been a consistent player. You look at his production, he’s just, he’s giving you 20 plus goals every year, year after year after year. And you know, knows what it takes to play a winning brand of hockey. And so, you know, the price on him, I know, is especially high for anyone that wants to get in there.
But that’s, we’re at that stage of the summer now where, if you don’t like the composition of your top-six, and you’re around the league, you’re looking at the free agent list. And respect to those players, maybe Jack Roslovic could play somewhere in a top six, maybe, he still unsigned. But, I mean, there really aren’t a lot of obvious solutions on the UFA list at this point in time. And so you’ve got to look elsewhere.
Now, there are a few other teams, you know, I’ve heard, you know, Seattle, you know, might be compelled to move someone like Jared McCann. There’s, there’s some other places to knock. I’m not saying it’s only Pittsburgh, but because Pittsburgh (A) has the incentive, I think, to keep turning over the roster, and (B) has two players that you know would generate a fair bit of interest around the league. I do think that they’re a strong possibility for where the next move could happen.
Have you subscribed to our YouTube channel? Rumor roundups and hot topics from around the league. We’re also posting some stuff on Instagram.
