One-on-one: Rakell hoping Avalanche loss wasn't his farewell
The Penguins' 4-1 loss to the Avalanche here at Ball Arena on Tuesday was their final game before this season's trade deadline, set for Friday at 3 p.m. Eastern.
For some of these players, it may have been their last time in a Penguins uniform.
The Penguins sit next-to-last in the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of the Sabres with four more games played. They're only eight points out of a playoff spot with three more games played than the Rangers in the second wild card spot. Catching the Rangers alone isn't unobtainable ... but six teams sit between the Penguins and Rangers.
They're out. This team isn't making the playoffs.
But the Penguins are in an awkward retooling phase. Kyle Dubas has said repeatedly -- too often to count -- that they aren't going full tear-it-down-to-the-studs rebuild for a number of reasons. For one, blowing it up isn't guaranteed to work. Just look at teams like the Blackhawks and Red Wings, who opted for the full teardown and are struggling to get out of it. And for the Penguins, the core is still around, still wants to be around, and have clauses in their contract to guarantee that. They will not become a basement team while Sidney Crosby is still around.
So, the Penguins won't go full "fire sale" this Friday. They've already unloaded their two pending free agents with the most value in Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor. Some pieces -- like Erik Karlsson, like Tristan Jarry -- may prove to be too difficult to move in-season.
If there's a piece on this roster who is absolutely moveable and could bring the biggest haul, it's Rickard Rakell.
Rakell is the Penguin' leading goal-scorer, with 29 in 63 games. His 53 points ranks second to only Crosby's 66. He can play both wings and even center if needed. He's making an incredibly reasonable $5 million per year, and is locked in for another three years after this season. Most contending teams, or teams on the cusp of contending, would see value in Rakell.
Tuesday's loss very well could have been Rakell's last with the Penguins. But he's hoping it wasn't, as he told me in a one-on-one chat after the game.
"I hope not," Rakell replied when I asked whether it was on his mind that this could have been his last game with the team. "That's the only thing that's on my mind. I mean, I love my teammates. I love playing for the Penguins."
He paused, looking around the room at those teammates surrounding him.
"I see myself in the future here," he said. "But it's nothing I can control."
If this was Rakell's last game, it makes for a tough one swallow. The Penguins and Avalanche were tied for much of the game, and the Penguins were actually the better team for much of the first period. A late power-play goal for the Avalanche broke the tie, then Colorado added two empty-net goals to put it away.
Rakell, of course, had the lone goal for the Penguins. And it was a good one:
"I was able to get a stick on the puck there in the neutral zone," Rakell said. "Sid did a good job jumping on that puck and finding Rusty, who made a really good play to me. It was just on me to put the puck in."
If there's a reason to keep Rakell, this game was a reminder of why. Whenever Dubas has spoken about his philosophy regarding this retooling phase, it's always with the stated end goal of trying to win as soon as possible while the existing core is still here to be a part of it.
So, if Dubas really does believe that's possible, he has to ask himself what gets the Penguins closer to contending with Crosby -- keeping his winger Rakell, at a very reasonable cap hit? Or the futures the Penguins could get for Rakell, which could feasibly involve draft picks that won't even play an NHL game until Crosby is done.
Rakell's as in the dark as anyone as to whether he'll actually be on the move. He only has an eight-team no trade list, which does provide limited protection but isn't something management would have to discuss with him in terms of waiving it. Rakell told me he's had no conversations at all with management about his immediate future here.
All Rakell and his teammates can do now is wait. The Penguins will have a scheduled day off on Wednesday, with a practice in Las Vegas on Thursday. When the trade deadline closes on Friday afternoon, the Penguins will just be wrapping up their morning skate in preparation for that evening's game against the Golden Knights.
And if it's up to Rakell, he'll be right there in the lineup that night, too.
THE ASYLUM
One-on-one: Rakell hoping Avalanche loss wasn't his farewell
The Penguins' 4-1 loss to the Avalanche here at Ball Arena on Tuesday was their final game before this season's trade deadline, set for Friday at 3 p.m. Eastern.
For some of these players, it may have been their last time in a Penguins uniform.
The Penguins sit next-to-last in the Eastern Conference, four points ahead of the Sabres with four more games played. They're only eight points out of a playoff spot with three more games played than the Rangers in the second wild card spot. Catching the Rangers alone isn't unobtainable ... but six teams sit between the Penguins and Rangers.
They're out. This team isn't making the playoffs.
But the Penguins are in an awkward retooling phase. Kyle Dubas has said repeatedly -- too often to count -- that they aren't going full tear-it-down-to-the-studs rebuild for a number of reasons. For one, blowing it up isn't guaranteed to work. Just look at teams like the Blackhawks and Red Wings, who opted for the full teardown and are struggling to get out of it. And for the Penguins, the core is still around, still wants to be around, and have clauses in their contract to guarantee that. They will not become a basement team while Sidney Crosby is still around.
So, the Penguins won't go full "fire sale" this Friday. They've already unloaded their two pending free agents with the most value in Marcus Pettersson and Drew O'Connor. Some pieces -- like Erik Karlsson, like Tristan Jarry -- may prove to be too difficult to move in-season.
If there's a piece on this roster who is absolutely moveable and could bring the biggest haul, it's Rickard Rakell.
Rakell is the Penguin' leading goal-scorer, with 29 in 63 games. His 53 points ranks second to only Crosby's 66. He can play both wings and even center if needed. He's making an incredibly reasonable $5 million per year, and is locked in for another three years after this season. Most contending teams, or teams on the cusp of contending, would see value in Rakell.
Tuesday's loss very well could have been Rakell's last with the Penguins. But he's hoping it wasn't, as he told me in a one-on-one chat after the game.
"I hope not," Rakell replied when I asked whether it was on his mind that this could have been his last game with the team. "That's the only thing that's on my mind. I mean, I love my teammates. I love playing for the Penguins."
He paused, looking around the room at those teammates surrounding him.
"I see myself in the future here," he said. "But it's nothing I can control."
If this was Rakell's last game, it makes for a tough one swallow. The Penguins and Avalanche were tied for much of the game, and the Penguins were actually the better team for much of the first period. A late power-play goal for the Avalanche broke the tie, then Colorado added two empty-net goals to put it away.
Rakell, of course, had the lone goal for the Penguins. And it was a good one:
"I was able to get a stick on the puck there in the neutral zone," Rakell said. "Sid did a good job jumping on that puck and finding Rusty, who made a really good play to me. It was just on me to put the puck in."
If there's a reason to keep Rakell, this game was a reminder of why. Whenever Dubas has spoken about his philosophy regarding this retooling phase, it's always with the stated end goal of trying to win as soon as possible while the existing core is still here to be a part of it.
So, if Dubas really does believe that's possible, he has to ask himself what gets the Penguins closer to contending with Crosby -- keeping his winger Rakell, at a very reasonable cap hit? Or the futures the Penguins could get for Rakell, which could feasibly involve draft picks that won't even play an NHL game until Crosby is done.
Rakell's as in the dark as anyone as to whether he'll actually be on the move. He only has an eight-team no trade list, which does provide limited protection but isn't something management would have to discuss with him in terms of waiving it. Rakell told me he's had no conversations at all with management about his immediate future here.
All Rakell and his teammates can do now is wait. The Penguins will have a scheduled day off on Wednesday, with a practice in Las Vegas on Thursday. When the trade deadline closes on Friday afternoon, the Penguins will just be wrapping up their morning skate in preparation for that evening's game against the Golden Knights.
And if it's up to Rakell, he'll be right there in the lineup that night, too.
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