Prospects Penguins Are Looking For In Rakell/Rust Trades

Crosby, Rust, & Rakell, Pittsburgh Penguins

Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust could be traded before the 2025-26 season starts and Kyle Dubas is looking for specific players to be brought back in those trades to the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Josh Yohe said, "I wonder what you can get in return. Kyle Dubas wants NHL-ready players more than anything. What he wants are 22-year-old guys that can play right now."

There are multiple reasons for this, but a big one is the upcoming UFAs that are likely going to be traded during the season or leave afterwards, including players like Evgeni Malkin, Kevin Hayes, Noel Acciari, Anthony Mantha, Danton Heinen, Blake Lizotte, Connor Dewar, Ryan Shea, and Connor Clifton. That is on top of Rakell, Rust, Erik Karlsson, and Tristan Jarry who may all be traded within the next year.

Already bringing in players like Philip Tomasino, Ville Koivunen, Rutger McGroarty, and Arturs Silovs is a good start, but Rakell and Rust are still worth a lot, considering both their production and contracts.

Rakell has most recently been linked to the Los Angeles Kings, Seattle Kraken, Ottawa Senators, and Chicago Blackhawks, while Rust has been linked to the Buffalo Sabres, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Columbus Blue Jackets by The Fourth Period. Assuming all of these teams still have interest, whether they are trying to acquire one of them now or by the trade deadline, we'll identify at least one prospect that could be used to get one of the veterans on the Penguins.

The closest thing the Kings may be able to offer is Samuel Helenuis or Erik Portillo. Jani Nyman or Jagger Firkus, from the Kraken, could be of high interest to the Penguins. Ridly Greig, Tyler Kleven, or even someone like Stephen Halliday could be targets from the Senators. While the Blackhawks have a slew of potential options like Colton Dach, Ryan Greene, Wyatt Kaiser, Ethan Del Mastro, Lukas Reichel, Nolan Allan, Kevin Korchinski, and Aidan Thompson around that age and NHL-ready.

The Sabres could offer players like Jiri Kulich, Noah Ostlund, Isak Rosen, or Prokhor Poltapov. Pittsburgh might be interested in William Villeneuve or Topi Niemela. Columbus could definitely offer Yegor Chinakhov, Luca Del Bel Belluz, Jordan Dumais, or Daemon Hunt.

The Penguins have lots of options and can probably afford to be a little picky when it comes to which prospects they really want from interested teams.