Official 2025 trade deadline

[Michael74]

What is the board going to say when the Draft passes and we still have Rakell and Karlsson on our team? Is it a good thing, or have we missed a massive opportunity to add young talent to our roster? No matter what Dumbass does, there is a faction on this board that thinks he can do no wrong. There will always be excuses for Dumbass just like there was for Hextall. Not saying that the naysayers know more than NHL GM’s, but some things are so obvious they can’t be ignored. And the results of the last several years prove that.

Half asleep, sorry.

The Pens were on the down swing prior to KD even getting here. The core was aging out, there was little in the way of a farm system as we perpetually sold of future assets to stay competitive. All before he got here. So context is important. The team hasn't won a playoff series since 2018. Again long before he got here. He didn't inherit a team where by the stars were in their prime, more accurately they were on their last legs (save Sid). He wanted to afford them one more chance in bringing in EK, clearly it didn't work, but I could see the wisdom in doing so. The players and coach ultimately soiled the bed there, so he changed course and since then so he's extracted good value in trades and in beefing up our draft pick and prospect pool. Wish he would have traded Rakell for a tidy some but lets see how the summer goes.

This was gonna be a mess regardless of the GM. Ultimately he'll be judged as to how he builds up the system and drafts and develops the young guys. He 100% needs to hit on these 1st round draft picks! Especially the next three years. If he doesn't as well as develop players around them and add a key piece or two via free agency then yes, he should be condemned.

[Victor]

Calen Addison was traded in the AHL for future considerations.

[Puck-Lurker]

I get why posters and Dubas want to keep Rakell.

He's signed for 5M for 3 more years, which isn't that much in the current climate for a top 6 winger. He's that. Can play both wings and can fill in for C for stints. Not physical, a good passer but not elite, but boy he can put biscuits in the net. Put him with a playmaking C and he can go on a tear. I guess Crosby is something of a playmaker? He can fit in across the lineup, seems to be a good dude too. The value of his contract is likely to increase for a little while longer, IF he produces to a similar clip. I think we're seeing peak Rakell right now, which is a 25-30 goal scorer.

I absolutely loved the trade for Rakell. He cost a 2nd + ZAR + Simon at the time. I praised Hextall for resigning him for his 6x 5M deal. I love having Ricky as a Penguin. He's here for three more years.

The key for me is that, I see no scenario where the Penguins return to contention to compete for the Stanley Cup during Rakell's contract, even as a dark horse. Sid is here for two more seasons (including 26-27). I'm convinced Crosby would likely sign another deal at that point, even if it's a 1 year deal to retire with Letang or something, I don't know. Malkin would probably be gone by then as a player.

At the end of that 'window', you'd have a 40 year old Crosby and Letang, 34 year old Rakell with expiring contracts, maybe Rust's there at 35. Our current prospects and picks will not be far enough to support a cup run. Their value in the meantime will not be enough to trade for high end pieces to get a really good roster.

I don't see a scenario where Sid leads a team into, say, the second round of the playoffs. So use is it to have Rakell?

He can be traded in the here and now for things we will need to become a good team after Crosby. Yes, we definitely need to keep some players that mentor the new kids. If you keep Crosby and Rust, you don't need to also keep Rakell for that purpose. If you keep Crosby and Rakell, you could part with Rust. I get that it moves out a great player, but they're not going to bring in a cup. Picks, prospects and younger players might eventually. Rakell was just easier to trade than Rust this deadline and I'm nervous that Dubas passed up on it. Not sure what was on offer, can't speculate, but there will have been offers I'd have taken.

Nervous because I foresee more work for Dubas come summer. One of Rust and Rakell for value.. One of Letang and Karlsson for value and adding by subtracting.. One of Jarry and Graves for a christmas miracle. Acciari to make me happy.

New contracts for Tomasino, Ponomarev and perhaps one of the guys picked up from TOR. Not resigning or qualifying certain names, Nieto, POJ, Johnstone, Mehström

[100565]

What is the board going to say when the Draft passes and we still have Rakell and Karlsson on our team? Is it a good thing, or have we missed a massive opportunity to add young talent to our roster? No matter what Dumbass does, there is a faction on this board that thinks he can do no wrong. There will always be excuses for Dumbass just like there was for Hextall. Not saying that the naysayers know more than NHL GM’s, but some things are so obvious they can’t be ignored. And the results of the last several years prove that.

Half asleep, sorry.

The Pens were on the down swing prior to KD even getting here. The core was aging out, there was little in the way of a farm system as we perpetually sold of future assets to stay competitive. All before he got here. So context is important. The team hasn't won a playoff series since 2018. Again long before he got here. He didn't inherit a team where by the stars were in their prime, more accurately they were on their last legs (save Sid). He wanted to afford them one more chance in bringing in EK, clearly it didn't work, but I could see the wisdom in doing so. The players and coach ultimately soiled the bed there, so he changed course and since then so he's extracted good value in trades and in beefing up our draft pick and prospect pool. Wish he would have traded Rakell for a tidy some but lets see how the summer goes.

This was gonna be a mess regardless of the GM. Ultimately he'll be judged as to how he builds up the system and drafts and develops the young guys. He 100% needs to hit on these 1st round draft picks! Especially the next three years. If he doesn't as well as develop players around them and add a key piece or two via free agency then yes, he should be condemned.

Michael74 thoughts mirror my opinion of KD. I think he was more than justified getting EK65. I think he had to sign Jarry (no othet starting goalies to sign). Graves has not worked either and is the worst signing, but I still get the rational. My biggest knock on KD is his reluctance to fire Sully. I don't care now, but he should have been fired KD's first year when he took a swing and things wete failing. I still wish Sully would be canned, but he is giving them a chance for top 5 pick this year.

EK65 and Rakell will most likely still be traded.

I was concerned KD might over play his hand and go after some of the big name UFAs this offseason; they have the cap space. After listening to he recent press conference, I am not worried about it any more. He seems to have a good plan (not the PR words he spewed often) and I think he will stick to it. There will be a time to make a big splash in free agency, but first they need some high draft picks.

[FLPensFan]

Freidman reporting that the Leafs asked Marner to waive his NTC to get traded to Carolina for Rantanen. He declined. Guess he'll be gone this summer. Dubas guy.

Imagine adding Marner for 7 years, 15M AAV, NMC for 2 years, 8-team NTC for 2 more, then no trade protection. That would be a big jolt towards getting into the playoffs. There would still need to be work on the defense, like trading EK65 and adding a better LD, but....this would be an interesting concept.

Keep drafting and piling up picks for the future, while adding Marner, McGroarty, Koivunen, Brunicke, and some other UFA/RFA types.

Hmmmmmm.

For god sake NOO! 15M AAV 12M tops..

Serious questions.....without looking any of it up, answer the following:

1) How much in AAV does Marner make today?
2) Over the past 5 seasons, including current, where does Marner rank in total points?
3) Over the past 5 seasons, where does he rank in power play points?
4) Over the past 5 seasons, where does he rank in short handed goals?

If you don't know without looking it up, take your best guess.

[FLPensFan]

What is the board going to say when the Draft passes and we still have Rakell and Karlsson on our team? Is it a good thing, or have we missed a massive opportunity to add young talent to our roster? No matter what Dumbass does, there is a faction on this board that thinks he can do no wrong. There will always be excuses for Dumbass just like there was for Hextall. Not saying that the naysayers know more than NHL GM’s, but some things are so obvious they can’t be ignored. And the results of the last several years prove that.

I think Karlsson will still be here after the draft. If a Karlsson trade is going to happen...expect it to happen AFTER July 1st. That's when his 5M signing bonus is paid out. While his cap hit will remain at 10M (or less if there is retention), his actual salary next year is only 4M, plus a 5M signing bonus. So if the Penguins pay that signing bonus, the acquiring team is only paying him 4M for this season, then a 6M signing bonus next year and a 1.5M salary.

On Rakell, we don't know the offers or KDs set price...but I get the feeling that KD plans to hold onto Rakell and not trade him at all. Unless nobody came close to his price (and remember, just because a GM sets an ungodly price doesn't mean he may not need to come down a little), there was zero reason to keep Rakell at the trade deadline only to try and flip him this summer. It would serve no purpose.

I think Dubas has a bad first year as GM, but, I also still think he was being Hextall'd...which is to say, I believe he was still letting too many people control what actions he took. To me, it's clear this summer and this season, he is now running in full on Dubas mode. He's not trying to skirt that line of compete for playoffs and build up picks and prospect pool.

If Dubas is serious about trying to compete one more time for a Cup while Sid is here, then going after a big fish like Marner and cleaning up the defense is the only way I see it happening. He's not going to be able to acquire enough NHL ready young guys (24 and under) in the next 3 years.

[Puck-Lurker]

Freidman reporting that the Leafs asked Marner to waive his NTC to get traded to Carolina for Rantanen. He declined. Guess he'll be gone this summer. Dubas guy.

Imagine adding Marner for 7 years, 15M AAV, NMC for 2 years, 8-team NTC for 2 more, then no trade protection. That would be a big jolt towards getting into the playoffs. There would still need to be work on the defense, like trading EK65 and adding a better LD, but....this would be an interesting concept.

Keep drafting and piling up picks for the future, while adding Marner, McGroarty, Koivunen, Brunicke, and some other UFA/RFA types.

Hmmmmmm.

For god sake NOO! 15M AAV 12M tops..

Serious questions.....without looking any of it up, answer the following:

1) How much in AAV does Marner make today?
2) Over the past 5 seasons, including current, where does Marner rank in total points?
3) Over the past 5 seasons, where does he rank in power play points?
4) Over the past 5 seasons, where does he rank in short handed goals?

If you don't know without looking it up, take your best guess.

Guessing time!

1.) 11M
2.) 16-20th in the league
3.) ~50th in the league
4.) He doesn't rank.

[Ohio_Pens_fan]

1) 11M
2) top 10
3) top 10
4) 2nd

[thehockeyguru]

Yeah Marner is getting a higher AAV than Rantanen

[Puck-Lurker]

Okay, so I couldn't resist checking.

1. 10.9M AAV
2. 17th in the league for points (summed up his points ranking over 5 years and averaged it)
3. Messed up here, thought we were looking for PP goals; which has him 115th. Excluding 2021, he'd be 65th. That is power play goals though.
4. 126th -- goes up to 27th if you only use the last three years.

Much as I like to see good wingers ply their trade, let's maybe not sign Marner.

Also maybe make some room in the village (never mind the inn) to sign our d(r)aft picks to contracts

[FLPensFan]

The correct answers on Marner are:

1) 10.9M AAV. What I found quite interesting is, 95% of it is paid in signing bonus. In all 6 years of his deal, Marner has only made a league minimum salary, between 700K to the current 775K. In Year 1, he was paid a 15.3M signing bonus, with a 700K salary.

2) He ranks 7th in points since the 20-21 season. Behind only McDavid, Draisaitl, MacKinnon, Rantanen, Panarin, and Pastranak. Rantanen is 4th with 439 points, and Marner is only 12 points behind him with 427.

3) He's around 20th in PP points, tied with 4 others. Rantanen is 5th in PP points with 159. Marner is 31 points behind with 128.

4) He's tied for 4th in SHG. Kreider leads with 12, 4 players tied with 11, 4 players tied with 10, and 4 players tied with 9. Marner has 9. Rantanen has zero.

I use Rantanen as a comparable, because he just got 12M AAV, and was rumored to want 14M AAV. Rantanen is a bit better in goal scoring, 290 to 218 with only 5 NHL games difference between the two. Marner is 1.26 points per game in his career, Rantanen is 1.25. Marner ranks a lot lower in playoff points, moreso I think because Toronto hasn't played as many games or been as good of a team. Marner also has the short-handed prowess that Rantanen does not.

Rantanen was making 9.25M with Colorado, and basically felt he was underpaid...which is why he was looking for 14M AAV. In the upcoming NHL with the big cap jumps, that's not an out of the question ask. You also have to take into account this is free agency, where prices are going to be higher, and Marner is essentially making 11M today...he is going to want a raise.

So, if Marner agreed to sign here for 14M or 15M a season, are you saying yes, or are you saying hell no, too expensive?

For reference, without dumping Karlsson or any other current player, adding Marner at 15M and Tomasino at 2.5M, I have 5.5M in cap space (95.5M cap) remaining with this roster:

Rakell-Crosby-Rust
Tomasino-Malkin-Marner
McGroarty-Novak-Koivunen
Heinen-Lizotte-Acciari
x-Hayes

Pickering-Letang
Graves-Karlsson
Kolyachonok-Shea
x-Aho

Jarry
Ned

That still leaves a lot of room if we move on from Karlsson, and bury Jarry, to hopefully improve the defense.

[Pens4Life]

Freidman reporting that the Leafs asked Marner to waive his NTC to get traded to Carolina for Rantanen. He declined. Guess he'll be gone this summer. Dubas guy.

Imagine adding Marner for 7 years, 15M AAV, NMC for 2 years, 8-team NTC for 2 more, then no trade protection. That would be a big jolt towards getting into the playoffs. There would still need to be work on the defense, like trading EK65 and adding a better LD, but....this would be an interesting concept.

Keep drafting and piling up picks for the future, while adding Marner, McGroarty, Koivunen, Brunicke, and some other UFA/RFA types.

Hmmmmmm.

For god sake NOO! 15M AAV 12M tops..

Serious questions.....without looking any of it up, answer the following:

1) How much in AAV does Marner make today?
2) Over the past 5 seasons, including current, where does Marner rank in total points?
3) Over the past 5 seasons, where does he rank in power play points?
4) Over the past 5 seasons, where does he rank in short handed goals?

If you don't know without looking it up, take your best guess.

He will still earn more than before, 1M.. Doubt he would want to sign for Pens anyway.

Why my take on that salary? Because he is more of a playmaker than scorer, 35 goals is his best, then he scored 30, next 26, this one at 21 for now.. Pens need more goalscorers than playmakers.

And to add my opinion on the roster you posted, that roster wont make it past round 2 of playoffs, if even that.. unless we make also great changes on D and the chemistry clicks and our old core has phenomenal season. But doubtful..

[Michael74]

What is the board going to say when the Draft passes and we still have Rakell and Karlsson on our team? Is it a good thing, or have we missed a massive opportunity to add young talent to our roster? No matter what Dumbass does, there is a faction on this board that thinks he can do no wrong. There will always be excuses for Dumbass just like there was for Hextall. Not saying that the naysayers know more than NHL GM’s, but some things are so obvious they can’t be ignored. And the results of the last several years prove that.

Half asleep, sorry.

The Pens were on the down swing prior to KD even getting here. The core was aging out, there was little in the way of a farm system as we perpetually sold of future assets to stay competitive. All before he got here. So context is important. The team hasn't won a playoff series since 2018. Again long before he got here. He didn't inherit a team where by the stars were in their prime, more accurately they were on their last legs (save Sid). He wanted to afford them one more chance in bringing in EK, clearly it didn't work, but I could see the wisdom in doing so. The players and coach ultimately soiled the bed there, so he changed course and since then so he's extracted good value in trades and in beefing up our draft pick and prospect pool. Wish he would have traded Rakell for a tidy some but lets see how the summer goes.

This was gonna be a mess regardless of the GM. Ultimately he'll be judged as to how he builds up the system and drafts and develops the young guys. He 100% needs to hit on these 1st round draft picks! Especially the next three years. If he doesn't as well as develop players around them and add a key piece or two via free agency then yes, he should be condemned.

Michael74 thoughts mirror my opinion of KD. I think he was more than justified getting EK65. I think he had to sign Jarry (no othet starting goalies to sign). Graves has not worked either and is the worst signing, but I still get the rational. My biggest knock on KD is his reluctance to fire Sully. I don't care now, but he should have been fired KD's first year when he took a swing and things wete failing. I still wish Sully would be canned, but he is giving them a chance for top 5 pick this year.

EK65 and Rakell will most likely still be traded.

I was concerned KD might over play his hand and go after some of the big name UFAs this offseason; they have the cap space. After listening to he recent press conference, I am not worried about it any more. He seems to have a good plan (not the PR words he spewed often) and I think he will stick to it. There will be a time to make a big splash in free agency, but first they need some high draft picks.

100% WITH YOU! I'm hoping, at least through next year they are patient. I would try to augment this team via free agency after NEXT season. I want us essentially to wait for the '26 draft. There's no guarantees to be sure, but if you draft and develop effectively you can set yourself up for the next 10-15 years if you play it right.

[pfim]

I get why posters and Dubas want to keep Rakell.

He's signed for 5M for 3 more years, which isn't that much in the current climate for a top 6 winger. He's that. Can play both wings and can fill in for C for stints. Not physical, a good passer but not elite, but boy he can put biscuits in the net. Put him with a playmaking C and he can go on a tear. I guess Crosby is something of a playmaker? He can fit in across the lineup, seems to be a good dude too. The value of his contract is likely to increase for a little while longer, IF he produces to a similar clip. I think we're seeing peak Rakell right now, which is a 25-30 goal scorer.

I absolutely loved the trade for Rakell. He cost a 2nd + ZAR + Simon at the time. I praised Hextall for resigning him for his 6x 5M deal. I love having Ricky as a Penguin. He's here for three more years.

The key for me is that, I see no scenario where the Penguins return to contention to compete for the Stanley Cup during Rakell's contract, even as a dark horse. Sid is here for two more seasons (including 26-27). I'm convinced Crosby would likely sign another deal at that point, even if it's a 1 year deal to retire with Letang or something, I don't know. Malkin would probably be gone by then as a player.

At the end of that 'window', you'd have a 40 year old Crosby and Letang, 34 year old Rakell with expiring contracts, maybe Rust's there at 35. Our current prospects and picks will not be far enough to support a cup run. Their value in the meantime will not be enough to trade for high end pieces to get a really good roster.

I don't see a scenario where Sid leads a team into, say, the second round of the playoffs. So use is it to have Rakell?

He can be traded in the here and now for things we will need to become a good team after Crosby. Yes, we definitely need to keep some players that mentor the new kids. If you keep Crosby and Rust, you don't need to also keep Rakell for that purpose. If you keep Crosby and Rakell, you could part with Rust. I get that it moves out a great player, but they're not going to bring in a cup. Picks, prospects and younger players might eventually. Rakell was just easier to trade than Rust this deadline and I'm nervous that Dubas passed up on it. Not sure what was on offer, can't speculate, but there will have been offers I'd have taken.

Nervous because I foresee more work for Dubas come summer. One of Rust and Rakell for value.. One of Letang and Karlsson for value and adding by subtracting.. One of Jarry and Graves for a christmas miracle. Acciari to make me happy.

New contracts for Tomasino, Ponomarev and perhaps one of the guys picked up from TOR. Not resigning or qualifying certain names, Nieto, POJ, Johnstone, Mehström

He's a top 6 winger that will score 25-30 goals (this season may be an aberration, but so was last season). Those types of players will go for more than $5 million in the summer. He's also got at least two more trade deadlines to extract value from Rakell.

I'm not sure I share your view about Dubas's time frame, I think he'll be somewhat aggressive this summer. Given all of that, it's a no brainer to keep Rakell unless there was a severe overpayment offered.

[pekkasteele]

I get why posters and Dubas want to keep Rakell.

He's signed for 5M for 3 more years, which isn't that much in the current climate for a top 6 winger. He's that. Can play both wings and can fill in for C for stints. Not physical, a good passer but not elite, but boy he can put biscuits in the net. Put him with a playmaking C and he can go on a tear. I guess Crosby is something of a playmaker? He can fit in across the lineup, seems to be a good dude too. The value of his contract is likely to increase for a little while longer, IF he produces to a similar clip. I think we're seeing peak Rakell right now, which is a 25-30 goal scorer.

I absolutely loved the trade for Rakell. He cost a 2nd + ZAR + Simon at the time. I praised Hextall for resigning him for his 6x 5M deal. I love having Ricky as a Penguin. He's here for three more years.

The key for me is that, I see no scenario where the Penguins return to contention to compete for the Stanley Cup during Rakell's contract, even as a dark horse. Sid is here for two more seasons (including 26-27). I'm convinced Crosby would likely sign another deal at that point, even if it's a 1 year deal to retire with Letang or something, I don't know. Malkin would probably be gone by then as a player.

At the end of that 'window', you'd have a 40 year old Crosby and Letang, 34 year old Rakell with expiring contracts, maybe Rust's there at 35. Our current prospects and picks will not be far enough to support a cup run. Their value in the meantime will not be enough to trade for high end pieces to get a really good roster.

I don't see a scenario where Sid leads a team into, say, the second round of the playoffs. So use is it to have Rakell?

He can be traded in the here and now for things we will need to become a good team after Crosby. Yes, we definitely need to keep some players that mentor the new kids. If you keep Crosby and Rust, you don't need to also keep Rakell for that purpose. If you keep Crosby and Rakell, you could part with Rust. I get that it moves out a great player, but they're not going to bring in a cup. Picks, prospects and younger players might eventually. Rakell was just easier to trade than Rust this deadline and I'm nervous that Dubas passed up on it. Not sure what was on offer, can't speculate, but there will have been offers I'd have taken.

Nervous because I foresee more work for Dubas come summer. One of Rust and Rakell for value.. One of Letang and Karlsson for value and adding by subtracting.. One of Jarry and Graves for a christmas miracle. Acciari to make me happy.

New contracts for Tomasino, Ponomarev and perhaps one of the guys picked up from TOR. Not resigning or qualifying certain names, Nieto, POJ, Johnstone, Mehström

He's a top 6 winger that will score 25-30 goals (this season may be an aberration, but so was last season). Those types of players will go for more than $5 million in the summer. He's also got at least two more trade deadlines to extract value from Rakell.

I'm not sure I share your view about Dubas's time frame, I think he'll be somewhat aggressive this summer. Given all of that, it's a no brainer to keep Rakell unless there was a severe overpayment offered.

I think he will not start to sign strong UFAs this summer, but maybe want to wait for next deadline to see what the best 2026 1st round pick he can get is, since it should be a good draft. We don't know now, what teams will du from here on, maybe he got a pick this year that he thought would be a top 5-10 pick in 2026, but then that team signs a lot of good UFAs and it ends up being the 25th pick or something, he would have a clearer picture at next deadline to get the best pick for the better 2026 (so they say) draft.

[pfim]

I think he will not start to sign strong UFAs this summer, but maybe want to wait for next deadline to see what the best 2026 1st round pick he can get is, since it should be a good draft. We don't know now, what teams will du from here on, maybe he got a pick this year that he thought would be a top 5-10 pick in 2026, but then that team signs a lot of good UFAs and it ends up being the 25th pick or something, he would have a clearer picture at next deadline to get the best pick for the better 2026 (so they say) draft.

It's not just FA, he's got a boat load of picks to work with to improve the team. I don't think he acquired all of those picks to wait 4-5 years at best to improve the team. He'd be out of a job by then.

[Puck-Lurker]

I get why posters and Dubas want to keep Rakell.

He's signed for 5M for 3 more years, which isn't that much in the current climate for a top 6 winger. He's that. Can play both wings and can fill in for C for stints. Not physical, a good passer but not elite, but boy he can put biscuits in the net. Put him with a playmaking C and he can go on a tear. I guess Crosby is something of a playmaker? He can fit in across the lineup, seems to be a good dude too. The value of his contract is likely to increase for a little while longer, IF he produces to a similar clip. I think we're seeing peak Rakell right now, which is a 25-30 goal scorer.

I absolutely loved the trade for Rakell. He cost a 2nd + ZAR + Simon at the time. I praised Hextall for resigning him for his 6x 5M deal. I love having Ricky as a Penguin. He's here for three more years.

The key for me is that, I see no scenario where the Penguins return to contention to compete for the Stanley Cup during Rakell's contract, even as a dark horse. Sid is here for two more seasons (including 26-27). I'm convinced Crosby would likely sign another deal at that point, even if it's a 1 year deal to retire with Letang or something, I don't know. Malkin would probably be gone by then as a player.

At the end of that 'window', you'd have a 40 year old Crosby and Letang, 34 year old Rakell with expiring contracts, maybe Rust's there at 35. Our current prospects and picks will not be far enough to support a cup run. Their value in the meantime will not be enough to trade for high end pieces to get a really good roster.

I don't see a scenario where Sid leads a team into, say, the second round of the playoffs. So use is it to have Rakell?

He can be traded in the here and now for things we will need to become a good team after Crosby. Yes, we definitely need to keep some players that mentor the new kids. If you keep Crosby and Rust, you don't need to also keep Rakell for that purpose. If you keep Crosby and Rakell, you could part with Rust. I get that it moves out a great player, but they're not going to bring in a cup. Picks, prospects and younger players might eventually. Rakell was just easier to trade than Rust this deadline and I'm nervous that Dubas passed up on it. Not sure what was on offer, can't speculate, but there will have been offers I'd have taken.

Nervous because I foresee more work for Dubas come summer. One of Rust and Rakell for value.. One of Letang and Karlsson for value and adding by subtracting.. One of Jarry and Graves for a christmas miracle. Acciari to make me happy.

New contracts for Tomasino, Ponomarev and perhaps one of the guys picked up from TOR. Not resigning or qualifying certain names, Nieto, POJ, Johnstone, Mehström

He's a top 6 winger that will score 25-30 goals (this season may be an aberration, but so was last season). Those types of players will go for more than $5 million in the summer. He's also got at least two more trade deadlines to extract value from Rakell.

I'm not sure I share your view about Dubas's time frame, I think he'll be somewhat aggressive this summer. Given all of that, it's a no brainer to keep Rakell unless there was a severe overpayment offered.

Oh its definitely not Dubas' timeframe. He thinks he can out a team together for Sid to try one last time. He can't and the effort is better spent elsewhere, but he won't. Ownership will steer him in that direction.

I would trade anyone not called Sidney or Crosby for a better team in the post Crosby future. But not all at the same time. I realize Dubas won't go that route and people here are as divided on how to proceed as anywhere.

I do know one thing... Those TNT talking heads don't know what they're talking about. What absolute nonsense during that broadcast... Good grief... Do they even watch hockey?

[KG]

TIFWIW but Servalli said the asking price from the Pens for Rakell was 2 1st round picks and the teams top prospect. It's no surprise he wasn't traded with that price tag, but I really wonder what offers we did receive. 1st and top prospect maybe? You would have to move him at that I would think. We'll see if anything progresses in the summer.

[Daniel]

TIFWIW but Servalli said the asking price from the Pens for Rakell was 2 1st round picks and the teams top prospect. It's no surprise he wasn't traded with that price tag, but I really wonder what offers we did receive. 1st and top prospect maybe? You would have to move him at that I would think. We'll see if anything progresses in the summer.

I don't mind that, next year the price is a 2026 1st and a top prospect to potentially give the Penguins 3 1st round picks in what's supposed to be a very deep draft. Heck, what if they get a 1st for Karlsson and have 4 1st round picks.

[Puck-Lurker]

TIFWIW but Servalli said the asking price from the Pens for Rakell was 2 1st round picks and the teams top prospect. It's no surprise he wasn't traded with that price tag, but I really wonder what offers we did receive. 1st and top prospect maybe? You would have to move him at that I would think. We'll see if anything progresses in the summer.

I don't mind that, next year the price is a 2026 1st and a top prospect to potentially give the Penguins 3 1st round picks in what's supposed to be a very deep draft. Heck, what if they get a 1st for Karlsson and have 4 1st round picks.

The thinking is, that he will bring back a 1st and top prospect between now and the next deadline if need be. And Dubas is apparently on a 2-year track to bring the Pens back into the playoffs.

I wish they just picked a lane and committed to rebuilding, but we're kinda half-and-half in both

[Daniel]

TIFWIW but Servalli said the asking price from the Pens for Rakell was 2 1st round picks and the teams top prospect. It's no surprise he wasn't traded with that price tag, but I really wonder what offers we did receive. 1st and top prospect maybe? You would have to move him at that I would think. We'll see if anything progresses in the summer.

I don't mind that, next year the price is a 2026 1st and a top prospect to potentially give the Penguins 3 1st round picks in what's supposed to be a very deep draft. Heck, what if they get a 1st for Karlsson and have 4 1st round picks.

The thinking is, that he will bring back a 1st and top prospect between now and the next deadline if need be. And Dubas is apparently on a 2-year track to bring the Pens back into the playoffs.

I wish they just picked a lane and committed to rebuilding, but we're kinda half-and-half in both

It's easier to rebuild today and I think building up assets over 2 years is fine. Playoffs sure but they won't be contenders immediately.