There have been very few NHL trades in the last few years involving 30-goal scorers, and for good reason. After all, a team with a player who has reached elite level production is usually trying to keep him around, but entering a rebuild, the Pittsburgh Penguins’ situation demands they listen on veteran players such as Rickard Rakell.
The Penguins could not only use more future-facing assets, but the space for their current crop of prospects and free agent reclamation projects. So, what are the Penguins veterans worth on the NHL trade block?
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas was bluntly honest at the 2025 NHL trade deadline and in the summer. He admitted he listened to inquiries about Rakell and Bryan Rust and decided the offers were not good enough. In fact, he termed his price on Rust to be “sky high.”
Over the same time period, Dubas has also stated that Rust is part of the transition team to lead the younger players, which is a nice way of saying he is likely unavailable unless another team is willing to offer a wild overpay.
However, the same should not be said for Rakell, who is easily the most valuable of the Penguins veterans with whom Dubas will part. Over the last three years, there have been a dozen trades involving players who have hit 30 goals in their career. In fairness, most of those trades were for players who had outlier seasons, were years removed from their best, or who scored plenty of goals without the corresponding benefits of a complete game.
To wit, Tyler Toffoli, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Taylor Hall have taken rides on the NHL trade carousel, but none of those players would compare to Rakell, who is still in his prime, can play center, and is producing at career high levels while playing a complete game.
Rakell’s game has been criminally underrated on the national stage.
So, there are three trades to circle as potential bellwether deals for Rakell’s value; somewhat similar players within the same production range. First, the New York Islanders acquired Bo Horvat in January of 2023, the Vancouver Canucks snagged Elias Lindholm on July 1, 2024, and the Boston Bruins acquired Tyler Bertuzzi at the 2023 deadline.
And one trade that might make Penguins fans wince but perhaps the most on-point comparison: the San Jose Sharks traded then-33-year-old Mikael Granlund (with embattled defenseman Cody Ceci) to the Dallas Stars at the 2025 deadline in exchange for a first and third-round pick.
Lindholm and Horvat are probably a level up from Rakell, but not incomparably so. Lindholm was 29 at the time, was one year removed from his career year in which he scored 42 goals, despite never reaching the 30-goal plateau before or since, and a pending unrestricted free agent. In exchange for Lindholm, who was also a pending free agent, Vancouver gave to the Calgary Flames young winger Andrei Kuzmenko, who posted 74 points in the prior season but was on a much slower pace in his second season with the club, a depth defenseman, a C-level prospect, but most importantly, a first-round pick (28th overall).
Net: So the real get for Lindholm was a late first and Kuzmenko, who has never again come close to his 74 point outburst. If you’re curious, Calgary selected Matvei Gridin with the 28th pick, and he made his NHL debut this season with 20 points in 37 games.
Horvat brought Vancouver a softer haul. New York traded Anthony Beauvillier, forward prospect Aatu Raty, and a conditional 2023 first-round draft pick.
Net: Raty was a polarizing prospect, Beauvillier was a lower scoring responsible middle-six winger, and what became the 17th overall pick (traded twice, finally landing with Detroit), which Detroit turned into heralded prospect Axel Sandin-Pellikka. So, it was a third-line forward, a prospect gamble, and what became a great prospect.
Penguins Trade Chips
So, based on the recent past, Dubas should be able to turn Rakell into a first-round pick, a depth player, and a prospect … if he wants. Of course, that deal will be available for 18 months, until the 2027 NHL trade deadline, because Rakell has two years remaining on his contract, which looks increasingly cheap as the salary cap spikes.
Of course, whether Dubas is prepared to dig deeper into his rebuild is another question entirely.
We will table any Erik Karlsson trade talk for another day as the defenseman’s future is both clearly stated but more likely murky. Beyond Karlsson and Rakell, most other Penguins veterans have little trade value.
As good as Kris Letang has been throughout his 20-year career, it would likely cost the Penguins a draft pick or a salary holdback to move the D-man. His 35+ contract with a $6.1 million salary cap hit isn’t terribly expensive, but it’s not cheap and there is no guarantee that Letang will be able to finish out the remaining two years, or that an acquiring team would, in fact, want him to do so. But that pesky 35+ designation means a team could be on the hook for the full amount regardless of Letang’s potential rapid decline.
The Penguins acquired Sam Girard near the trade deadline in exchange for Brett Kulak, who was playing quite well with the Penguins, and a distant 2029 second rounder. Given Girard’s fluctuations in a Penguins sweater, it would be nearly impossible for Dubas to flip Girard without a few months of elevated play. So, perhaps next season opens the trade door, just as it could open the door for an extension.
Justin Brazeau has another affordable year remaining on his Penguins deal, but being a healthy scratch in the playoffs and muted down the stretch limits any trade value to a hockey trade or a mid-round pick.
Tommy Novak might have value, but his struggles in tougher and relatively pedestrian production (16-26-42) in 82 games also limits his value to a hockey trade or a pick well outside the top 50.
One veteran who might have a surprising trade value is Parker Wotherspoon. The 28-year-old had a breakout year, was selected as a member of Team Canada for the World Championships, and is owed only $1 million for next season. He would have trade value, but also significant value for the Penguins, and would seem to be a prime candidate for a new contract.
Dubas has no incentive to entertain Wotherspoon trade talk at the moment, but as Wotherspoon demonstrates a body of work that extends over multiple seasons, his value could appreciate nicely by the 2026 NHL trade deadline.
Tags: kyle dubas nhl trade Rickard Rakell
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