Canadian Team Linked to Pittsburgh Penguins Forward Rickard Rakell

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been quiet to this point in the offseason, but a trade is likely coming, and Rickard Rakell is at the center of it.

After having a good year with 35 goals and 70 points on a non-playoff team, Rakell has been pursued by more than one suitor.

At three years left on his contract with a $5 million AAV, he is not cheap, however, when compared to similar players, he is definitely a bargain in that regard. He's an elite top-six point producer who can alter the trajectory of any club that signs him.

Among the teams connected to Rakell, the Ottawa Senators are emerging as a frontrunner. Ottawa has only approximately $4 million of available cap space, so in any deal, they would likely have to send a player off their roster back to Pittsburgh.

The Penguins are rumored to have interest in young forwards Ridly Greig or Fabian Zetterlund, while the Senators could potentially trade older player David Perron, who is in the last year of his contract, although the Penguins and Kyle Dubas have said multiple times they want to get younger, not older.

Rakell's addition would add scoring, grit, and talent to the Sens' top six, something the team most urgently needs. Which is to say, yes, acquiring him won't come cheap or easily.

If Ottawa will not make a trade, three other interested parties remain in the hunt: the Los Angeles Kings, Seattle Kraken, and Chicago Blackhawks.