Elliotte Friedman Drops Update on Rickard Rakell's Future with the Penguins
Photo credit: Edit from The Hockey News
NHL insider Elliotte Friedman revealed that Rickard Rakell really wants to stick around with the Penguins, but unfortunately for him, it's out of his control.
Rickard Rakell is among a list of players from the Pittsburgh Penguins who have seen their names pop up in rumor mills since the trade deadline last season, during the offseason, and into the current season.
The 32-year-old winger had his best year in the league last season. The impending rebuild of the Pittsburgh Penguins roster makes Rakell's next step an important narrative.
As Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet revealed, Rakell himself wants to stick around with the Penguins instead of being traded, though whether that ends up being his choice or not remains to be seen.
Re Penguins rumours: "I'll tell you this...I'm not convinced Rickard Rakell really wants to go anywhere, I think his preference is to stay, but he doesn't have control over it."
- Elliotte Friedman
- Elliotte Friedman
Rickard Rakell had the best season of his career last year, which further increased his trade value
Rakell's wish to extend his stay in Pittsburgh should not come as a surprise. In the 2024-25 campaign, he had his most successful year as a player yet. In 81 outings, he reached personal highs with 35 goals and 70 points.
After two seasons of ups and downs, Rakell at last found his spot within the Penguins' top-six lineup.
At the same time, however, that breakout game has made him such an important asset on the trade market for the Penguins.
Due to this, it's only natural to question whether they could look to sell high while his value is at its peak, given the rebuild that GM Kyle Dubas has been working towards.
Nevertheless, the Rakell saga continues to be an area that should be closely followed as the season continues to move along.
Seeing as it may not be up to him, the Swedish winger will be strapping on the black and gold as he usually does, except he may just not know for how much longer that will be the case.
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