Penguins president/general manager Kyle Dubas isn’t selling Rakell and Rust for peanuts, nor is he married to the idea of keeping them for the long term.
Still, I keep going back to what several team sources have told me: Dubas wants to go young next season.
Dubas hasn’t received offers that meet his liking yet, but he is fully committed to a rebuild. That means that having 30-somethings like Rust, Rakell and Mantha in your lineup doesn’t make much sense.
Again, the goal is to get younger. Rust and Rakell are good enough that they’ll not only hurt the Penguins’ chances of earning a top-five pick, but they should also fetch a significant return.