Believe it or not, it’s been a little over four years since former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall acquired Rickard Rakell at the 2022 NHL trade deadline.
He was exactly what the Penguins needed and has been a stalwart in the top six ever since. He’s had to go through multiple offseasons of trade rumors, including this one, but he’s still with the Penguins and has two seasons left on his contract.
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Rakell had a career season in 2024-25, finishing with 35 goals and 70 points in 81 games. His 35 goals and 70 points were career highs.
He followed that season up with 24 goals and 48 points in 60 games this past season and would’ve been close to his numbers from the 2024-25 season if he hadn’t missed a month and a half in the first half of the season with a broken left hand.
Rakell spent a good chunk of the season as one of Sidney Crosby’s wingers, but also spent time at center, a position he wasn’t familiar with before this season. It was a major adjustment for him since he had to become more comfortable taking draws, becoming even more of a 200-foot player, and killing penalties.
He had barely spent any time on the penalty kill over the last five seasons before playing 34:57 on that unit this past season. It was Rakell’s most time on the PK since the 2019-20 season, when he spent 45:04 on the Anaheim Ducks’ penalty kill.
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While Rakell did improve at center as the season went on, he’s still a natural winger, and I expect him to start the 2026-27 season next to Crosby and Bryan Rust. Rakell is super comfortable with Crosby and does a great job reading off him while he’s on the ice. If injuries do come up for some of the Penguins centers, Rakell can still shift to that position for a handful of games.
Some of the deployment on the top power play unit might be different for the 2026-27 season, but I’d still have Rakell up there. He’s great in the slot area and has one of the top shots on the team. He also has the ability to move around and keep the opposing penalty killers honest.
Rakell might be another year older heading into this season (33), but I still expect him to score between 20 and 30 goals and finish with 50 and 60 points. He’s been at or above that level in three of the last four seasons, and I don’t see it changing right now. I’d be fairly surprised if he had a season similar to his 2023-24 year when he only shot 9.1% and finished with only 15 goals and 37 points.
He’ll be a key component for a Penguins team that’s trying to make the Stanley Cup Playoffs for a second season in a row.
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