4 Potential Trade Destinations For Penguins' Rakell

The Pittsburgh Penguins are on the decline, and that means that many of their most important players will become trade pieces to use to get better for the future. There have already been a number of solid moves to get younger and get more set up for the future, but there is much more to do, including trading Erik Karlsson, Rickard Rakell, and Bryan Rust for starters.

Rakell is going to be the most sought after of those three or anyone on the Penguins not named Sidney Crosby. Dan Kingerski revealed that the Los Angeles Kings, Seattle Kraken, San Jose Sharks, and Detroit Red Wings are all potential spots that Rakell could end up with. The Penguins' sniper has three years left on his deal at $5 million AAV and he finished with 35 goals and 70 points last season.

LA Kings

The Kings might be nearing the end of their competitive window and didn't do anything with it. There were a lot of bad moves this offseason and not many would argue that this team had the worst offseason of any team in the NHL. It wouldn't exactly fix it, but it would help to bring in a game-changer like Rakell that could add more scoring. It would also soften the blow if Anze Kopitar's career is coming to a close in the next year or two. The Kings need something now or this isn't going to be a very good year for them.

Seattle Kraken

The Kraken haven't been quiet this offseason and lots would suggest that they aren't even done. The team has been linked to Jordan Kyrou and now Rakell, so it appears as though they are big game hunting to top off a great offseason. They have the cap space and prospects/picks to get a deal done and Rakell would surely put this deep team over the top and back into the playoff picture.

San Jose Sharks

The Sharks really tried to spend as much money as they could this offseason and still have $20 million of space available. They aren't going to come close to using it all, but their forward group looks even more concerning than last season. Alex Wennberg and Adam Gaudette are currently slotted in the top-6, so if the Sharks hope to improve at all and make a quicker turnaround, Rakell would be a piece to do it. He would definitely help Will Smith on the second line and the team on the power play. Having him for three years is worth it for a team like San Jose and they have no shortage of assets to make the move.

Detroit Red Wings

The Red Wings have to do something this offseason as there have only been a number of misses so far. They have the cap space and have also been linked to Karlsson. While it would be a tall task to bring in both, cap-wise and asset-wise, it would make a lot of sense to add a physical sniper to the top-6 and finally bolster the team with another much-needed piece. There is a spot on the top line that needs to be filled as James van Riemsdyk is a current placeholder.