Yes, It's High Time For The Penguins To Trade One Of Their Best Wingers. But It's Not The One You Think It Should Be.

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To say that the days leading up to the 2026 NHL Entry Draft on Jun. 26-27 are some of the most exciting we’ve seen in terms of movement and outright bombshells on the trade market is a vast understatement. In two days time, fans have already seen Brady Tkachuk go to Florida, Simon Nemec moved to Calgary, Jordan Kyrou heading to Washington, and – most recently – defenseman Bowen Byram sent to the Chicago Blackhawks for a package involving their fourth overall pick.

So, in other words, prices are nuts. And, when you consider what players across the league could be getting back as far as returns, it’s becoming increasingly more difficult to overlook how the Pittsburgh Penguins have three very nice trade chips on their hands.

Dating back to the 2025 trade deadline, there has been trade chatter surrounding Penguins’ veterans Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Erik Karlsson. Each of them are high-value players – even at their respective ages of 34, 33, and 36 – and given what the going price is for surefire NHL talent right now, even if they’re older, they should each demand quite a sizeable return.

Rust is fresh off his seventh-consecutive season of 20 or more goals, and his last three seasons have, arguably, been the three best of his career production-wise, as his three highest goal totals (28, 31, 29) are the most he’s had. Rakell has had three of the best seasons of his career as well, with his last two being his best in Pittsburgh. And Karlsson found his vintage form last season with 15 goals and 66 points in 75 games to complement stellar 200-foot play.

It’s been a point of emphasis that the Penguins want to take big steps next season and get better while simultaneously getting younger, and if the needle is thread correctly, there is a path for the Penguins to trade all three players and still accomplish that. However, given the integral role all three players had in their push to the playoffs last season, it will be difficult to pull that off, no matter how much value each can return.

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Trading both Rust and Rakell means two of their three most productive top-six players are out. Dealing Karlsson means that their best blueliner, by a country mile, is out. When a team like the Penguins is trying to rebuild without bottoming out, it’s hard to do that and trade everyone that has value.

So, it’s highly likely that not all three of Karlsson, Rust, and Rakell will be dealt. Karlsson has a full no-movement clause, and his situation is different because of the fact that the Penguins will not be better next season if they move Karlsson without an immediate stopgap replacement, at least until promising blue line prospect Harrison Brunicke is ready for top-four NHL minutes.

The situation is not the same for the two forwards, however.

The Penguins may very well trade both Rust and Rakell, especially given the kinds of returns we’re seeing prior to the draft. Rust has no trade protection, while Rakell has an eight-team no-trade list. But, if they want to compete next season, it might behoove them to hold onto one of them until, at least, the 2027 trade deadline, when another younger player or prospect may have had some runway to establish himself and when the team has a good idea of where it’s at.

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Chances are that neither player will, all of a sudden, experience a drastic fall-off if they are tethered to Sidney Crosby. And, because of their cap hits relative to their production and roles – Rust makes $5.125 million and Rakell $5 million, both for two more years – the Penguins should still be able to recoup significant assets if they choose to deal the second one later on.

Many folks are flooding social media with trade proposals – whether to move up in the draft or to acquire a younger NHL player – involving Rakell, which is understandable. He has spent parts of five seasons in Pittsburgh, while Rust has spent all 12 seasons of his career as a Penguin.

From a sentimental point of view, and from the vantage point that Rust has been Crosby’s longtime winger preceding Rakell, there is a general consensus that if only one of the two are dealt, it should or would more likely be Rakell. After all, Rust – beyond his tenure in Pittsburgh – is a huge presence in the Penguins’ locker room, and his intangibles are invaluable.

But – from a logistical point of view – if only one of Rust or Rakell is to go, it should be Rust.

When it comes to Rust and Rakell, at the end of the day, they are actually very similar players in very similar spots. They are a similar age, both are at respectable and similar point-per-game paces, they are good for 25-30 goals every season, barring health, and they have been mainstays alongside 87.

Rust’s reputation and history – as well as his consistency – have made him a coveted veteran asset for many contending teams for years now. Given their similar production, it’s fair to assume that the “reputation” factor gives Rust a small nod over Rakell in the trade market.

However, just because Rust likely has more perceived value on the trade market than Rakell, that doesn’t mean that he is the better player now. Yes, Rust is still an effective penalty killer, he produces at a high clip, and he can still generate on the forecheck. In a lot of ways, Rust was a better and more complete player in his prime than Rakell ever was historically.

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But there are other areas of Rust’s game that have fallen off pretty drastically. For one, he has become a near liability on defense. His ability to hold onto pucks, especially in the offensive zone, has also waned, he loses a lot of puck battles, and his speed isn’t nearly as much a factor as it was for him in his younger days. A lot of Rust’s game is built around his speed and hardline north-south play, and that’s not necessarily a sustainable style for someone well into their 30s.

Rakell’s last two seasons in Pittsburgh have been very good ones, and in their push to the playoffs this season, he – along with Karlsson – was one of the team’s most valuable players in a March stretch that was largely played without Sidney Crosby and was their toughest and most crucial stretch of the season. In fact, he had 14 goals and 24 points in a 20-game stretch from Mar. 1 – Apr. 5, going pointless in just three of those games. Rust also had nine goals and 23 points in that same stretch, but Rakell found ways to drive play from a relatively unfamiliar position in addition to producing on his own.

He can play center and wing, and – taking away his less-than-ideal work in the faceoff dot – he manned the center position pretty well by the end of the season. He is an effective power play presence, he can kill penalties, he forechecks well, he is decent at the net-front, his shot is well above NHL average, and he began to show more of a playmaking side to his game this season. Plus, he has a higher ceiling as a goal-scorer with three 30-plus goal seasons under his belt.

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At this juncture, Rakell – who is also a year younger than Rust – is probably the better overall player, and his positional versatility could help the Penguins a great deal as they transition the roster to becoming younger. And, if Rust is dealt, Rakell will likely become Crosby’s go-to trigger man, which could uptick his production even more and make a trade something they can revisit later on next season, when he should still net pretty significant value.

If Rust’s current value is higher, and teams covet him a bit more than they covet Rakell despite Rakell showing evidence of being a more effective all-around player in the now, Rust is the no-brainer as the one to go.

No, the Penguins cannot trade everyone if they hope to execute the type of rebuild they’re trying to pull off. But some have to go to make it work, too, and it appears that time has arrived. Rust is one of the most underrated Penguins’ players of all-time, and the two-time Stanley Cup champion built a legacy in Pittsburgh as one of its longest-tenured members of the Crosby era.

But, in order to move forward, some significant parts of the past must be parted with. If trading Rust is what helps the Penguins land a young NHLer who can help them now and moving forward or a top-five draft pick who will be a franchise-type player, it has to be done. And he should be the first of the three big dominoes to fall for the Penguins.

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