The top free-agent wingers are off the board. Teams that need scoring help or would like to add cost certainty to lineup upgrades are now left without UFA options and must instead turn to the NHL trade market.
Enter the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas used the first week of free agency to heavily increase the depth of his roster and add potential top-six winger Anthony Mantha on a one-year contract.
With the current influx of top-six wingers, Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen, and the admittedly “sky-high” price on Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell has not yet taken center stage as the premier available scorer, but he is a solid secondary option to high-profile names such as Jason Robertson and Jordan Kyrou.
Moving Rakell would also seem to be necessary for future renewal, though Dubas has thus far held a firm line against selling for less than deemed value.
The market appeared to open last week as general managers have begun to assess and admit their team’s needs. However, some potential trade partners appear to be out of contention as they addressed top-six winger needs, including the Utah Mammoth (JJ Peterka), Minnesota Wild (Vladimir Tarasenko), Carolina Hurricanes (Nikolaj Ehlers), and the New York Islanders (Jonathan Drouin).
The market may be open, but it has also shrunk.
3 Landing Spots for Rickard Rakell
Detroit Red Wings
It seems too perfect. A team with a heritage of successful European players is acquiring one of the most talented Swedish wingers. Beyond the ties of culture, Detroit is a few moments away from angst and anger. Captain Dylan Larkin was a little bit terse in his public exit interviews, and it’s been six years under the Yzer-plan without a playoff appearance.
Detroit general manager Steve Yzerman was frank regarding his team’s needs: An impact top-six forward and a top-four defenseman.
Detroit’s competition for one of the eight Eastern Conference playoff spots has not gotten worse, so the responsibility is on GM Steve Yzerman to improve his Detroit roster. As the roster currently stands, 37-year-old James van Riemsdyk or 24-year-old Elmer Soderblom will be a top-six left wing. Neither would fill such a role on most teams, which only weakens the rest of the lineup.
Rakell would make a perfect complement to either Dylan Larkin or sophomore center Marco Kasper.
Perhaps no other team has more urgency or even necessity to get a deal done.
LA Kings
The arena with statues of Luc Robitaille, Wayne Gretzky, and even Dustin Brown has not won a playoff series since 2014. They’ve lost to the Edmonton Oilers in Round One in four straight seasons.
If they’d like to get over the hump, they need some offense. Once Edmonton has cracked their tight team defense in each of the last few years, the series has been over. LA needs some offensive horsepower.
Andrew Kuzmenko and Alex Lafferiere are in the LA top six. Rakell could improve both spots (Kuzmenko a left winger and Lafferiere a right wing).
What LA is willing to offer might be another matter. Center Francesco Pinelli took a step forward in his second professional season, but still notched only 46 points in 71 games with the Ontario Reign. Defenseman Brandt Clark, LA’s first-round pick (8th overall) in 2021, is likely off limits.
If Dubas can connect the dots here, he might get his best return. Then again, perhaps LA is quite content making the playoffs and taking their chances.
Seattle Kraken
Seattle has depth of talent, but a lack of high-end talent. Jaden Schwartz is the top-line winger, and he hasn’t cracked the 50-point barrier since 2019-20.
Jared McCann, Kaapo Kakko, and Jordan Eberle are the other top-six wingers; that’s plenty of 45 to 50-point players, but only McCann is a 70-point player.
The Penguins would need to accept a package including longer-range prospects, such as Jagger Firkus (2022 second-round pick) or Eduard Sale (2023 first-round pick, 20th overall).
Wild Card: San Jose Sharks
Suddenly, the bereft San Jose Sharks have a bright future. Macklin Celebrini and Michael Misa could very well be their top two centers, with Will Smith and William Eklund as the other green, but very talented centerpieces of a team on the rise.
San Jose would be a shocker because they’re not yet viewed as a competitive team, but perhaps they should be. The core pieces are in place; now it is a matter of maturation.
Now, how about a skilled winger who knows how to play with talent, knows how to win, and comes quite affordably?