Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas was visibly worn out, if not just a little bit disappointed, following the first round of the NHL Draft on June 26. The NHL trade rumors swirled, but the Penguins came away empty.

No Jason Robertson, no trade up in the draft. The Penguins made the best of the fruitless trade and came away with prospect Liam Ruck, who scored 45 goals in 68 games for the Medicine Hat Tigers (and his twin brother Markus the following day in the second round), but Dubas had much bigger intentions that night.

“We worked our asses off,” Dubas said that night of the Penguins’ trade efforts to accelerate their rebuild.

However, the Ottawa Senators have been releasing clips and video of their war room from draft night, and a few nuggets have emerged. The full episode—Season 7, episode 1—of their behind-the-scenes show, Breakaway, released on their YouTube channel Wednesday, showed a couple of teams making pitches for the 25th overall pick.

Of course, Ottawa obtained that pick by trading away Brady Tkachuk to the Florida Panthers in the stunning summer blockbuster.

The Vancouver Canucks tried to entice Ottawa by offering the 33rd and 41st overall picks in exchange for the 25th and 72nd overall picks. Ottawa GM Steve Staois rejected that offer. However, Dubas tempted him.

“No pick offers are good enough just yet, but Pittsburgh is interesting with the roster player,” Staios said on video.

There it was—the Penguins’ last gasp to make a deal before the conclusion of the first round. Ultimately, Ottawa kept the pick and selected Swedish right-winger Jonas Lagerberg Hoen.

Penguins Trade Piece?

So, who was the player the Penguins offered? It’s pure speculation at this point, but PHN has a good guess.

The context clues do not point to Erik Karlsson. Something so extraordinary wouldn’t merely elicit one line: “a roster player.” Further, Dubas couldn’t simply offer up Karlsson during the draft without Karlsson’s permission.

Trading Karlsson would involve more work, more conversations, and our hunch is that such an offer would have drawn more reaction and conversation from Ottawa.

So, Karlsson is out.

While Bryan Rust might be suggested by some, the Penguins have resisted trading Rust because they view him as an essential locker room piece for the rebuild, and Dubas’s “sky-high” price for him wouldn’t be the 25th overall pick.

So, Rust is out.

It’s not Kris Letang, as his trade value is no longer that high. It’s not Rutger McGroarty or any of the young rostered players, as their trade value isn’t that high, either. And Dubas wouldn’t trade Ben Kindel or Egor Chinakhov, certainly not for so far below market value.

Through the process of elimination, PHN believes the player was Rickard Rakell.

The Ottawa Senators have been searching for a top-six winger, and the departure of Tkachuk only exacerbated their need for not just one, but now two wingers who can put the puck in the net, and Rakell fits the bill. Further, the 33-year-old Rakell is under team control for a comparatively cheap $5 million for two more seasons.

Last season, Rakell’s stats belied his productivity for most of the season. A slow start and injuries limited him to 24 goals and 48 points in 60 games. And a switch to center at various points in the campaign didn’t go well until the end of the season, which further dampened his statistics.

Should Ottawa have accepted? PHN is a little surprised that Staois didn’t, if it was indeed Rakell.

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Categorized:Penguins Trade Talk