Penguins Trade Deadline: Buyers and Sellers?

[pfim]

Rakell is the right value for money, and we have control. To me, we'd have to be overcompensated to trade him.

I don't understand. Do you think we can challenge for the cup next year? If Rakell scored 50 goals and had a 5 year contract for a million dollars a year, we should be leveraging that to get a better return.
EVERY player on the team should be thought of as a tradeable for younger players and draft picks.

That's fine, then that means everyone including Crosby.

[Cow_Master66]

Rakell is the right value for money, and we have control. To me, we'd have to be overcompensated to trade him.

I don't understand. Do you think we can challenge for the cup next year? If Rakell scored 50 goals and had a 5 year contract for a million dollars a year, we should be leveraging that to get a better return.
EVERY player on the team should be thought of as a tradeable for younger players and draft picks.

That's fine, then that means everyone including Crosby.

Amen brother

[NJ5934]

I think this last post is where it’s at. The team has been toeing the line on a rebuild for at least a season and a half. Right now, we have very trade-able assets and we are not completely out of lottery contention. It’s almost a perfect scenario to go all in. In my mind, everything but Crosby is fair game. I understand the nostalgia of keeping 58 and 71 until the end and I’m fine with that….but if KD was aggressive here, we could really speed up this rebuild. Rakell, Rust and Bunting could all secure assets in return and with the cap taking a big swing up next season, it might be worth eating the retention on EK for the next two years to grab a solid pick and young body.

[Cow_Master66]

I think this last post is where it’s at. The team has been toeing the line on a rebuild for at least a season and a half. Right now, we have very trade-able assets and we are not completely out of lottery contention. It’s almost a perfect scenario to go all in. In my mind, everything but Crosby is fair game. I understand the nostalgia of keeping 58 and 71 until the end and I’m fine with that….but if KD was aggressive here, we could really speed up this rebuild. Rakell, Rust and Bunting could all secure assets in return and with the cap taking a big swing up next season, it might be worth eating the retention on EK for the next two years to grab a solid pick and young body.

They aren't gonna trade any of the 3 elders.

[ahawk9]

Nieto allegedly on waivers. Planning my Stanley Cup party now...

[Puck-Lurker]

Talk of trading Crosby is moot.

Full NMC and he doesn't want to leave. Leave him be and have enough class to never ever ask him to waive his no movement.

If he did want to be traded, you try to make it happen in a way that helps all Sid and the team. But he doesn't want to be traded. There is no return worth trading Crosby. You can't get fair value for him. There are very few players in this entire league worth more to a team than Sid, even at age 37.

I'd leave him be, try to extract value from him playing and practicing with the next group of kids. I want to see him play with Koivunen, McGroarty, Ponomarev, Broz.. Pickering and Brunicke.. and watch the floor rise.

Imagine the Penguins traded Mario in 2003 to Ottawa. Yeah I know it's before the salary cap era, but boy let's not okay?

[thehockeyguru]

Hockeybuzz claiming increased chatter on Rakell. I don't think that site has any connections but I hope they are right

[Pruezy11881]

Nieto allegedly on waivers. Planning my Stanley Cup party now...

Moneyballing Sully to not play his favorites?

[dark_forces]

Nieto allegedly on waivers. Planning my Stanley Cup party now...

Moneyballing Sully to not play his favorites?

That's what I would do.
Sully: "Where's Niets?"
Me: "He's on waivers."
Sully: "What?!"
Me: "You heard me."
Sully: "What about Acciari?"
Me: "Just traded him."
Sully: "Christ! Who the hell am I gonna put out on the PK?"
Me: "I'm sure you'll think of something. By the way, Poulin's on his way here."

[KG]

Nieto allegedly on waivers. Planning my Stanley Cup party now...

Finally! should of happened months ago.

[FLPensFan]

Hockeybuzz claiming increased chatter on Rakell. I don't think that site has any connections but I hope they are right

Hockeybuzz stinks, but, this one is about as easy as walking outside and claiming the I heard the sky is blue.

For those wanting to hold on to Rakell, I know the chatter is Dubas isn't keen to move him. But at the same time, the forward trade deadline market is incredibly weak. The Athletic has Brock Nelson as the #1 trade piece, because he is a UFA and because he is a center.

Rakell comes in at #2. He's not a rental, so the price won't be cheap.

But then, you look at the rest of the list....Ryan Donato, Dylan Cozens, Scott Laughton, Brandon Tanev, Brayden Schenn, Miko Rantanen. Schenn has a 6.5M cap hit and isn't a UFA, so again, Rakell at 1.5M AAV cheaper looks a lot more attractive. The only other big name out there potentially is Rantanen, because rumors are Carolina isn't very close in contract talks and may re-flip him to get some other assets back.

There should be at least a half dozen teams lining up for Rakell. An A-level prospect and a 25/26 2nd should get it done. But is there enough of a market for someone to overpay with a 2026 1st AND an A-level prospect? Might be wishful thinking....or may be just the type of bidding war that happens at the trade deadline.

[dark_forces]

Hockeybuzz claiming increased chatter on Rakell. I don't think that site has any connections but I hope they are right

Hockeybuzz stinks, but, this one is about as easy as walking outside and claiming the I heard the sky is blue.

For those wanting to hold on to Rakell, I know the chatter is Dubas isn't keen to move him. But at the same time, the forward trade deadline market is incredibly weak. The Athletic has Brock Nelson as the #1 trade piece, because he is a UFA and because he is a center.

Rakell comes in at #2. He's not a rental, so the price won't be cheap.

But then, you look at the rest of the list....Ryan Donato, Dylan Cozens, Scott Laughton, Brandon Tanev, Brayden Schenn, Miko Rantanen. Schenn has a 6.5M cap hit and isn't a UFA, so again, Rakell at 1.5M AAV cheaper looks a lot more attractive. The only other big name out there potentially is Rantanen, because rumors are Carolina isn't very close in contract talks and may re-flip him to get some other assets back.

There should be at least a half dozen teams lining up for Rakell. An A-level prospect and a 25/26 2nd should get it done. But is there enough of a market for someone to overpay with a 2026 1st AND an A-level prospect? Might be wishful thinking....or may be just the type of bidding war that happens at the trade deadline.

Great points. My asking price would start at something akin to what we dealt for Zucker.

[FLPensFan]

Hockeybuzz claiming increased chatter on Rakell. I don't think that site has any connections but I hope they are right

Hockeybuzz stinks, but, this one is about as easy as walking outside and claiming the I heard the sky is blue.

For those wanting to hold on to Rakell, I know the chatter is Dubas isn't keen to move him. But at the same time, the forward trade deadline market is incredibly weak. The Athletic has Brock Nelson as the #1 trade piece, because he is a UFA and because he is a center.

Rakell comes in at #2. He's not a rental, so the price won't be cheap.

But then, you look at the rest of the list....Ryan Donato, Dylan Cozens, Scott Laughton, Brandon Tanev, Brayden Schenn, Miko Rantanen. Schenn has a 6.5M cap hit and isn't a UFA, so again, Rakell at 1.5M AAV cheaper looks a lot more attractive. The only other big name out there potentially is Rantanen, because rumors are Carolina isn't very close in contract talks and may re-flip him to get some other assets back.

There should be at least a half dozen teams lining up for Rakell. An A-level prospect and a 25/26 2nd should get it done. But is there enough of a market for someone to overpay with a 2026 1st AND an A-level prospect? Might be wishful thinking....or may be just the type of bidding war that happens at the trade deadline.

Great points. My asking price would start at something akin to what we dealt for Zucker.

I'd rather have a better prospect or NHL ready player over the 1st round pick. Brandt Clarke and a 2nd, Simon Nemec and a 2nd, Marco Kasper and a 2nd...something like that. The first is nice in a deep draft in 2026, but chances are much higher that if you are making a trade with a playoff contender your 1st round pick ends up in the 20s or higher....which means it's going to be several years before that pick makes an impact.

[thehockeyguru]

Hockeybuzz claiming increased chatter on Rakell. I don't think that site has any connections but I hope they are right

Hockeybuzz stinks, but, this one is about as easy as walking outside and claiming the I heard the sky is blue.

For those wanting to hold on to Rakell, I know the chatter is Dubas isn't keen to move him. But at the same time, the forward trade deadline market is incredibly weak. The Athletic has Brock Nelson as the #1 trade piece, because he is a UFA and because he is a center.

Rakell comes in at #2. He's not a rental, so the price won't be cheap.

But then, you look at the rest of the list....Ryan Donato, Dylan Cozens, Scott Laughton, Brandon Tanev, Brayden Schenn, Miko Rantanen. Schenn has a 6.5M cap hit and isn't a UFA, so again, Rakell at 1.5M AAV cheaper looks a lot more attractive. The only other big name out there potentially is Rantanen, because rumors are Carolina isn't very close in contract talks and may re-flip him to get some other assets back.

There should be at least a half dozen teams lining up for Rakell. An A-level prospect and a 25/26 2nd should get it done. But is there enough of a market for someone to overpay with a 2026 1st AND an A-level prospect? Might be wishful thinking....or may be just the type of bidding war that happens at the trade deadline.

Great points. My asking price would start at something akin to what we dealt for Zucker.

I'd rather have a better prospect or NHL ready player over the 1st round pick. Brandt Clarke and a 2nd, Simon Nemec and a 2nd, Marco Kasper and a 2nd...something like that. The first is nice in a deep draft in 2026, but chances are much higher that if you are making a trade with a playoff contender your 1st round pick ends up in the 20s or higher....which means it's going to be several years before that pick makes an impact.

IF the Pens retained on Rakell you'd have a lot more interest AND a better return. We have two retention slots opening this summer so why not? It's the perfect time to move him due to the lack of options like you mentioned.

Rakell + retention for a 2026 1st and A level prospect should be attainable.

[lemieuxReturns]

Don’t need to retain. We need to keep those for later.

[thehockeyguru]

Don’t need to retain. We need to keep those for later.

I could see using a slot on Karlsson but besides that what would you save them for? Nobody is calling about Jarry. To bad we couldn't send him to Anaheim for future consderations

[Puck-Lurker]

Nieto allegedly on waivers. Planning my Stanley Cup party now...

Moneyballing Sully to not play his favorites?

That's what I would do.
Sully: "Where's Niets?"
Me: "He's on waivers."
Sully: "What?!"
Me: "You heard me."
Sully: "What about Acciari?"
Me: "Just traded him."
Sully: "Christ! Who the hell am I gonna put out on the PK?"
Me: "I'm sure you'll think of something. By the way, Poulin's on his way here."

"Niets" is dutch for "Nothing". Seemed relevant

[FLPensFan]

Hockeybuzz claiming increased chatter on Rakell. I don't think that site has any connections but I hope they are right

Hockeybuzz stinks, but, this one is about as easy as walking outside and claiming the I heard the sky is blue.

For those wanting to hold on to Rakell, I know the chatter is Dubas isn't keen to move him. But at the same time, the forward trade deadline market is incredibly weak. The Athletic has Brock Nelson as the #1 trade piece, because he is a UFA and because he is a center.

Rakell comes in at #2. He's not a rental, so the price won't be cheap.

But then, you look at the rest of the list....Ryan Donato, Dylan Cozens, Scott Laughton, Brandon Tanev, Brayden Schenn, Miko Rantanen. Schenn has a 6.5M cap hit and isn't a UFA, so again, Rakell at 1.5M AAV cheaper looks a lot more attractive. The only other big name out there potentially is Rantanen, because rumors are Carolina isn't very close in contract talks and may re-flip him to get some other assets back.

There should be at least a half dozen teams lining up for Rakell. An A-level prospect and a 25/26 2nd should get it done. But is there enough of a market for someone to overpay with a 2026 1st AND an A-level prospect? Might be wishful thinking....or may be just the type of bidding war that happens at the trade deadline.

Great points. My asking price would start at something akin to what we dealt for Zucker.

I'd rather have a better prospect or NHL ready player over the 1st round pick. Brandt Clarke and a 2nd, Simon Nemec and a 2nd, Marco Kasper and a 2nd...something like that. The first is nice in a deep draft in 2026, but chances are much higher that if you are making a trade with a playoff contender your 1st round pick ends up in the 20s or higher....which means it's going to be several years before that pick makes an impact.

IF the Pens retained on Rakell you'd have a lot more interest AND a better return. We have two retention slots opening this summer so why not? It's the perfect time to move him due to the lack of options like you mentioned.

Rakell + retention for a 2026 1st and A level prospect should be attainable.

I disagree with that theory. The biggest thing you lose waiting until the summer is the heightened need. There's no playoffs. Heading into the trade deadline, there are multiple good UFAs....that are not available because their current team is in the thick of the playoff race. You get to the summer, while some of those guys re-sign with their current teams, others go to market, the pool of available players expands, and the bargaining leverage for Dubas drops considerably.

Dubas wants a 1st and an A-prospect; forget it, I'll pay a little more and lock up Ehlers or Boeser or Rantanen or Zucker or Marner or Mangiapane. Smaller pool of players to choose from at the trade deadline gives Dubas more leverage to ask for a higher return.

Also, I don't think there's going to be a big need to retain over the summer. Many more teams have much more available cap space. There shouldn't be a need to retain. Now, if someone like NJ wanted Rakell, and didn't want to dump say Haula to make the cap work...then maybe that is where you can squeeze them for a 2026 1st AND Simon Nemec in order for us to retain a little bit.

I don't think there are going to be any takers for Karlsson at the deadline, and, I strongly believe that if teams came asking for Karlsson and Rakell, if we retained on Rakell at the trade deadline we'd get a much better overall package for Rakell with retention than we would for Karlsson with retention.

Rakell's salary works out to $26,881 per day (5M divided by 186 league days). At 40 days left in the season on deadline day, he'd cost 1.075M against the cap. NJ has that. LA has that. DET has that. None of those teams would need retention to fit Rakell. Those are my 3 favorite targets for Rakell. Maybe a darkhorse in that Carolina decides to flip Rantanen, then circles back to get Rakell. You could ask for 23 year old LHD Alexander Nikishin, who's KHL contract expires after this season. Nikishin is said to be the best prospect in the world, although he's close to aging out as a prospect. He'd instantly be a first pairing d-man. They also have RHD Scott Morrow, who is a top 4 RHD man.

If the offer is right, trade Rakell at the deadline. Retain 1M if you have to. Then retain what you need to on Karlsson over the summer. 1M on Rakell and 5M on Karlsson retained isn't going to kill this team when we should be expecting McGroarty, Pickering, Koivunen, Brunicke, Blomqvist types all to be in the mix next year, and a big jump in cap ceiling.

[thehockeyguru]

Looking at the landscape I dont see a clear cut favorite in the East or West. I think that makes s stronger case for more teams to be interested in Rakell especially if the Pens retained. I'll be disappointed in Dubas if he doesn't make a Rakell trade by the deadline.

I agree on Karlsson retain and trade him this summer.

[Michael74]

Wonder how Sid reacts to getting rid of of his wingers 2 years in a row if Rakell gets traded? Someone said that the Rakell-Crosby-Rust line is one of the most productive lines in the NHL this year. Better get an incredible return for Rakell if he gets traded.

I'd be shocked if we move Rust and I doubt Rakell, but if we get good offers both should be n the table.

Regarding Sid, we haven't won a playoff series since 2018. The constants from that time are the core and the coach. And the coach wouldn't be here if the core didn't want him to be. Point being, we need to worry about the team more than any individual player, even as great as they might be.

The chances Rakell has the same or better season next year is not likely. If the point is to get the best assets to rebuild as possible, now is the time to trade Rakell.

As long as the return is very good I agree. That said, I wouldn't take much less than a premium return. At his cap hit and the fact that he's under contract for two more season beyond this it wouldn't be the end of the world if he wasn't moved. But to be clear moving him would be a strong preference in the right deal no question.

Definitely no reason at all to be in a hurry on Rakell, since he's not a UFA. If you think he can net more in the offseason, by all means, just wait.

I'd prefer to move him, but only for a premium. As others have stated a '26 1st, a good prospect and lesser but capable NHLer, yes I'd move him.

[Pens4Life]

Retaining on Rakell would be mistake.. zero need for that! His contract is very tradeable, manageable..

Karlsson, anything over 30% would be bad move as well.. lets not throw money thru the window,just because..

[penscup]

Would anybody give up more than a 2nd rounder for Letang?

If so, they should jump on that. (I know he has a full no-trade, but needs to understand the Pens gave him a shot the past 3 years and it’s been a total failure — they couldn’t even make the playoffs so time to move on or retire).

[FLPensFan]

Would anybody give up more than a 2nd rounder for Letang?

If so, they should jump on that. (I know he has a full no-trade, but needs to understand the Pens gave him a shot the past 3 years and it’s been a total failure — they couldn’t even make the playoffs so time to move on or retire).

While several people here have said Karlsson to Dallas as a potential, I saw something a few hours ago saying Dallas had interest in Letang. Don't recall the level of "credibility" of where that was reported.

[100565]

Would anybody give up more than a 2nd rounder for Letang?

If so, they should jump on that. (I know he has a full no-trade, but needs to understand the Pens gave him a shot the past 3 years and it’s been a total failure — they couldn’t even make the playoffs so time to move on or retire).

I have been a big Letang fan. He has gotten a lot of criticism during his career by some fans; not me.

However, I think Letang now has negative value (without retaining). I don’t think any team would take him and his full contract for a 7th round pick. Three more years at $6.1mil is rough.

Yeah never know though.

[KG]

You can accuse me of using a Jump to Conclusions mat! but Bunting is held out of practice for being sick and now Poulin gets scratched from WBS tonight, "sick" . Could both be getting held out for a trade?

Doubtful but not impossible.

Carry on