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Insider: Dubas Demanding Huge Returns for Rust, Rakell, and Karlsson Amid Trade Rumors


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Jack Sutherland
July 17, 2025  (8:38 PM)
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Penguins GM Kyle Dubas
Photo credit: The New York Times

Per a new report, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas is demanding hefty returns in trade packages for Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Erik Karlsson.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the last 3 years in a row, and they're not expected to realistically compete for a postseason spot this year in what could be Evgeni Malkin's final NHL season.
And while the future of Sidney Crosby remains the subject of speculation, multiple Penguins players, including Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Erik Karlsson, are being included in recent trade rumors.
Per a new report from analyst Frank Seravalli of The Daily Faceoff, Penguins GM Kyle Dubas is asking for a hefty return for any one of those players in a trade.
What's the asking price for Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell? The answer is, pretty high. There are now many top-6 forwards available. Rust and Rakell are both coming off very strong seasons. Both of them more than lived up to expectations.

And Pittsburgh is looking at this market efficiency and saying, 'Nobody can get their hands on these top-6 guys, we're not going to give them away even if they're older and don't necessarily fit our age scheme moving forward. We need to get real significant value in return.'

Per Seravalli, Dubas also likely to retain a portion of Karlsson's salary in a potential trade.
Kyle Dubas has been asking for a ton for both Rust and Rakell, and he's still asking for a lot for Karlsson on the basis that he's going to retain. If they could get him down to the $7-7.5 (million) range for 2 more seasons, I think there's a team that would certainly be willing to take a flyer on Erik Karlsson.

Seravalli specifically named the Carolina Hurricanes as a team he believes has shown interest in Karlsson.
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Insider: Dubas Demanding Huge Returns for Rust, Rakell, and Karlsson Amid Trade Rumors

Which Penguins player is most likely to be traded?

Erik Karlsson6375.9 %
Bryan Rust1214.5 %
Rickard Rakell89.6 %
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