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Latest On The Mikko Rantanen Trade Saga

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It is a very rare feat that a player is traded in the middle of a 100-point season. One has to look as far back as Joe Thornton’s blockbuster move from the Boston Bruins to the San Jose Sharks in 2005, or Teemu Selanne’s move from the Winnipeg Jets to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks in 1995. It is near unprecedented that a 100-point scorer gets moved twice in the same year. But that’s exactly what transpired at the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline, after top winger Mikko Rantanen – pacing for 107 points before his first move – was dealt first to the Carolina Hurricanes and then to the Dallas Stars.

Both trades were groundbreaking. The first moved Rantanen away from the Colorado Avalanche after a decade with the organization; and the second marked the absolute peak of hurt feelings, poor fits, and extension negotiations. With the rare moves has come plenty of media attention, painstakingly scrutinizing the pair of deals from every angle. That has teased out plenty about the motivations and frustrations that drove Rantanen’s cross-country journeys.

The saga began when negotiations on a new contract extension between the Avalanche and Rantanen fell flat. The winger wanted a premium payment after posting career-years in each of the last two seasons – 105 points in 2022-23 and 104 points last year. But Colorado didn’t want to exceed their internal cap limit, and capped their offer to Rantanen at an eight-year, $93.2MM extension – or $11.65MM in per-season salary. But the Finnish wing wasn’t willing to dip that low. Rantanen conceded to take less than Edmonton Oilers star Leon Draisaitl, who earned $14MM on his own extension – but wouldn’t settle for too much lower than Avalanche co-star Nathan MacKinnon’s $12.6MM salary.

Ultimately, it seems the Avalanche and Rantanen were roughly $1MM apart on a new deal. Rather than trying to continue sparring – or risk bending their internal cap – Colorado opted to flip their superstar without much second thought. Rantanen shared he was shocked by the sudden move, which moved him to the Hurricanes alongside Taylor Hall in exchange for Martin Necas, Jack Drury, a second-round pick, and a fourth-round pick. At the time, Rantanen told Corey Masisak of The Denver Post, “I was ready to take a significant discount for my market value. We had some chats, like a couple days before. Then they traded me. That’s what happened. That’s why I didn’t expect what happened.”

Apparently, Rantanen’s frustrations over the trade boiled into his first days in Carolina. To make matters worse, he left for the 4-Nations Face-Off tournament just over a week after playing in his first Hurricanes game – uprooting him as he tried to adjust to the new setting. With so much swirling around the move, it seemed Rantanen wasn’t ever going to be comfortable in Carolina. Canes head coach Rod Brind’Amour told Sportsnet that Rantanen laid it out flat from day one, telling him “There’s four teams I’ll go play for, but [Carolina] is not one of them.” Those are harsh words for an incoming addition – and made it clear that Rantanen had no indication of re-signing in his new destination. That held true even as Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky began his own negotiations, reportedly offering Rantanen as much as $12.6MM and showing the flexibility to go up to Draisaitl’s $14MM mark if need be.

With that, it was back to the open market for Rantanen. He had four landing spots top of mind but the Hurricanes received rich interest from across the league. The New Jersey Devils were the first team attached to the second market, and were quickly joined by the Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, Los Angeles Kings, Florida Panthers, and Dallas Stars.

Negotiations stalled out at different points with each team, but were said to go well down towards completion with Toronto, Edmonton, and Dallas. The Leafs are said to have offered a compelling package of top prospects Fraser Minten, Easton Cowan, and draft capital for the 100-point scorer – but Carolina countered with a package involving Toronto’s own star winger Mitch Marner. Marner was unwilling to waive his full no-movement clause for the move – ultimately caving talks in.

With one Canadian club dissatisfied, Carolina moved on to talks with the Edmonton Oilers – who were able to better match Rantanen’s desires for an extension, but couldn’t put together a return strong enough to sway the Hurricanes brass. That’s certainly no surprise. Edmonton has just one pick in the top two rounds of the 2025 or 2026 drafts – a second in the latter year. Their prospect pool is also relatively scant, headlined by Matthew Savoie with little depth behind him.

Where one bed is too soft – banked on future assets and inter-conference matchups – and the other is too hard – stuffed with filler to make up for lacking future pieces – Carolina was able to finally land on a perfect middle-ground in Dallas. The Stars are quickly turning into a wagon, with star veterans Tyler Seguin and Jamie Benn continuing to perform (when healthy) while youngsters like Wyatt Johnston and Thomas Harley plant their feet at the top of the lineup. With that momentum, and a clear path to the postseason, Dallas was able to shed some layers to land a big fish. They offered Carolina high-upside youngster Logan Stankoven, two first-round picks, and two third-round picks in exchange for Rantanen – an offer far more impactful in the short and long term than Toronto or Edmonton mustered up.

But the move to Dallas wasn’t immediately fruitful. The Stars formed the framework of the trade, but needed to land an extension with Rantanen before things could go through. Dallas wasn’t nearly as liberal with their wallets as some of Rantanen’s other options, and held firm to the $12MM-per-year mark on a new deal. That number came in $500K less than what Carolina had offered Rantanen, which initially put the winger off and seemed to push the deal towards falling flat. But diligent negotiating, and surely a desire to end this saga, ultimately forced Rantanen to cave. He signed an eight-year, $96MM extension with Dallas on the day of the Trade Deadline – finally (finally) landing him in a place where he could plant his feet.

On the organizational level, it seems everyone emerged from the jungle happy. Colorado landed a major contributor in Necas, who already has 17 points in 16 games as MacKinnon’s new right-winger. Carolina may have lost that point-per-game scoring, but they reeled back in one of the league’s top 23-year-olds, and the draft capital to be satisfied even if he doesn’t pan out. And Dallas added a 100-point scorer to an organization that’s only had one – 2022-23 Jason Robertson – since 1990.

But the deal gets murky as you dig deeper. After beginning the saga with a surprising move to Carolina, Rantanen now finds himself standing directly opposite of his old battery-mate MacKinnon. Colorado and Dallas have fought for majority control of the Central Division for years, intermittently upended by the Winnipeg Jets or Minnesota Wild. It’s not exactly a two-horse race, but Dallas’ success hinges on their ability to beat Colorado in the regular and post seasons – and vice versa. The two sides have already faced off twice this season, splitting the results. They have one more meeting – on Sunday, March 16th – which will give Rantanen a chance to test out facing his former club before they likely reconvene in the playoffs. While all of Rantanen’s matches with the Stars will be closely watched – it will be those meetings against Colorado that many find the most telling, after a trade saga that dragged through months of confusion and rumors.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Kraken Recall Jani Nyman

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The Seattle Kraken have recalled top forward prospect Jani Nyman to the NHL. This marks the first call-up of Nyman’s young pro career. He currently leads the AHL’s Coachella Valley Firebirds in scoring with 26 goals and 41 points in 55 games. Nyman also leads all AHL rookies in goals.

Nyman is playing through his first full year in North American pros after stopping by the AHL for a five-game trial at the end of last season. He’s taken quickly to the AHL and is currently on pace for 34 goals in 71 games this season. That total would make Nyman just the sixth U21 AHL skater to net 34 or more goals since 2000-01, and would mark the most a minor-leaguer has scored since Nigel Dawes managed 35 goals in 2005-06.

Seattle originally drafted Nyman in the second-round of the 2022 NHL Draft, after trading defenseman Jeremy Lauzon to the Nashville Predators to acquire the pick. Nyman followed his draft selection with a return to the Liiga’s Ilves. He managed 10 goals and 14 points in 29 games of what was his first year in Finland’s top level. With his feet under him, Nyman was able to lap those totals last year – netting 26 goals and 43 points in 48 games before moving to North America.

It’s not often that players score more goals than they do assists, and Nyman is one of the rare cases of a player making it habitual. He’s a stocky and controlled forward with a stellar shot and strong drive towards the low-slot. Those attributes helped Nyman earn an AHL All-Star Game bid in his rookie season, and could now help him step into his NHL debut. Kraken general manager Ron Francis hinted at wanting to give Nyman NHL reps before the season ended during a post-deadline media availability – and now seems to be following through with the proper roster moves. That could pose the challenge of a lineup shakeup for head coach Dan Bylsma, but the upside of adding a goal-scorer of Nyman’s level would be hard to ignore for a Kraken lineup currently well outside of the playoff race.

Poll: Where Will Mitch Marner End Up If He Doesn’t Re-Sign?

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Trade rumors have followed Toronto Maple Leafs star Mitch Marner throughout his entire career. Buzz of a bad fit started early, then developed into talks of poor relationships with his teammates, and have since turned into talks of a trade to an endless list of teams. Through it all, Marner has stood as nothing but consistent on Toronto’s top line. He’s scored above a 1.20 point-per-game pace every year since 2021, making him Toronto’s second-highest scorer on a per-game basis behind his superstar centerman Auston Matthews.

But Marner’s eight-figure contract is set to expire at the end of the season, and the most recent rumors claim he leveraged his full no-movement clause to block a move to the Carolina Hurricanes at the Trade Deadline. That movement has put Marner, and his future with the Maple Leafs, back at the focus of many NHL circles.

Marner is putting together a career year on the precipice of a brand new contract. He has 21 goals and 79 points in 62 games – an 82-game pace of 27 goals and 104 points. That would break Marner into the century scoring club for the first time in his career, topping his previous career-high of 99 points in 80 games of the 2022-23 campaign. He was narrowly close to setting the mark when he scored 85 points in 69 games last season – a full-year pace of 101 points – but injuries held Marner from reaching the top echelon of NHL scorers.

In fact, that’s been a frequent storyline throughout Marner’s career. He’s played in at least 70 games just five different times in his eight-year career – not yet including the 81 games he’s on pace for this year. Three of those full campaigns came in Marner’s first three years in the NHL. He’s a slight forward, standing at six-feet tall and 180-pounds – making him far more susceptible to the heavy hits of top NHL defenders than a player like Matthews. But while his injuries have been frequent, they haven’t yet proven too detrimental. Marner has still eclipsed 60 points in every single season of his career – a stat line that’s studded with 50 points in 57 career playoff games.

Marner certainly gets support from star company in Toronto, but his pedigree has only grown in recent years. He’s established himself as one of the NHL’s niftiest playmakers, capable of driving downhill with tempo and making slick moves through defenders to find teammates or take advantage of an open net. Those attributes are at the top of some teams priority list as they approach the off-season looking to add a star score. Marner’s pros could be enough to entice a cap-rich team like the Buffalo Sabres or Columbus Blue Jackets to go out of their way with a high bid offer to ensure they land Marner’s services.

Any team looking to add Marner will have to keep his role on the wing at front of mind. That could pose a challenge for teams like Columbus who have players like Adam Fantilli and Kent Johnson growing into superiority on their flanks. On the other hand, Marner’s s ability to support the middle lane could make a great fit for teams like Buffalo or the Calgary Flames who may have to account for their own top centers preferences to play out wide.

The free agent market has been set early by brand new Dallas Stars winger Mikko Rantanen, who signed an eight year extension with a yearly cap hit of $12MM. Marner was rumored to be offered in a swap for Rantanen at the deadline. He would reason to rival close to the dollar amount that Rantanen received. But on the open market and with Marner’s standing as a potentially catapulting piece for lineups on the fringe, he could see his yearly cap hit rise in north of $13MM after a bidding war. That number will be hard to bear for many teams around the league. But for the lucky few who could entertain it, Marner could offer a rare chance at landing a 100-point scorer on the open market.

Any speculation of Marner’s off-season availability is still just that. His refusal to move to Carolina at the deadline stands as a testament to his belonging on Toronto’s top line. While the team may need to mend relationships with their star right-winger after reportedly offering him up for trade, Marner has already assured that he’d rather play with the Leafs than go somewhere else midseason. Should that feeling change, Marner will enter the open market as the undeniable top name, now that Rantanen has signed a long-term deal.

That standing will bring with it plenty of attention, but only one team can win any Marner sweepstakes that forms. Who do you think it should be? Vote below:

Mobile users click here to vote.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Sharks’ Henry Thrun, Jan Rutta Out With Injury Long-Term

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The San Jose Sharks are dealing with a pair of injured defenders who could be done for the year per Max Miller of The Hockey News. Head coach Ryan Warsofsky told Miller that veteran Jan Rutta is still weeks away from returning, and hasn’t yet returned to the team’s practices. Warsofsky was a bit less decisive on Henry Thrun, who he dubbed as being just beyond week-to-week. Miller adds that Rutta is at risk of missing the remaining five weeks of the season, while Thrun will continue to fight for a return.

Rutta hasn’t played since suffering a lower-body injury in San Jose’s January 23rd loss to the Nashville Predators. He’s missed 14 games since – a number that would double should Rutta miss the rest of the year. His season would end on a bad note if he does, with Rutta boasting just eight points, 28 penalty minutes, and a minus-six in 51 games. That, surprisingly, marks the lowest scoring pace of Rutta’s historically uneventful career – narrowly beating out his nine points in 56 games of the 2022-23 season. Rutta split the time between that down year and this one with a small resurgence last season. He recorded 19 points, 38 penalty minutes, and a minus-21 in 69 games of the 2023-24 campaign – the most he’s scored since he managed 20 points in 57 games as an NHL rookie.

Rutta filled a menial bottom-pair role throughout the season. San Jose has turned back to career-long Shark Marc-Édouard Vlasic to fill in Rutta’s role. Vlasic has played in nine games in relief, posting no scoring, a minus-eight, and two shots on net. He’s averaged 16 minutes of ice time each night across that stand.

But the Sharks haven’t wanted to tap into their defense depth behind Vlasic, leaving Thrun’s vacancy in the top-four a bit tougher to fill. He has worked his way into more-and-more ice time this season, ultimately rivaling upwards of 24 minutes of ice time in one of his most recent games. Thrun’s new absence comes after he reaggravated the upper-body injury that held him out for a week-and-a-half in early March. He’ll be set to miss even more time, after already missing five games due to the injury.

San Jose has recalled career minor-leaguer Jimmy Schuldt to step into the lineup with Thrun out. Schuldt has scored 18 points in 54 AHL games this season. He’s in his first season in the Sharks organization after spending the last two years with the Seattle Kraken’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds. Schuldt tallied 56 points in 139 games with the Firebirds. He’s tagged into two NHL games over the course of his seven-year pro career – one just days after signing his first pro deal with the Vegas Golden Knights in 2018-19, and one earlier this season with San Jose. He has one assist in the pair of outings. The Sharks could need an extended fill-in for Thrun, which could pave the way for Schuldt to find his first NHL goal.

NHL Suspends Aaron Ekblad 20 Games For Performance Enhancing Substances

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Panthers star defenseman Aaron Ekblad will miss the remainder of the regular season and first two games of the postseason after being suspended 20 games for violating the terms of the NHL/NHLPA Performance Enhancing Substances Program, the league announced today. The suspension is without pay is accompanied by “mandatory referral to the NHL/NHLPA Program for Substance Abuse and Behavioral Health for evaluation and possible treatment.”

Suspensions for PEDs are quite rare in the NHL, but based on previous precedent, the length is to be expected. Nate Schmidt, now Ekblad’s teammate in Florida, was the most recent player to be suspended under the program while he was with the Golden Knights in training camp in 2018. He was also handed out a 20-game ban to begin the regular season, during which time he inked a six-year extension with Vegas.

Ekblad is just the sixth player to be suspended for PEDs since the 2012 lockout. Unlike in Schmidt’s case, where he testified he “could not have received any performance enhancement benefit from the trace amount that inadvertently got into my system,” Ekblad will not appeal the suspension and released the following statement (via Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman):

The news that I had failed a random drug test was a shock. Ultimately, I made a mistake by taking something to help me recover from recent injuries without first checking with proper medical and team personnel. I have let my teammates, the Panthers organization and our great fans down. For that, I am truly sorry. I have accepted responsibility for my mistake and will be fully prepared to return to my team when my suspension is over. I have learned a hard lesson and cannot wait to be back with my teammates.

The 29-year-old will not carry a cap hit for the remainder of the regular season, PuckPedia confirms, although that’s somewhat moot with the trade deadline now in the rearview. He ends his regular season on a six-game point streak (seven assists, plus-three rating) and has 3-30–33 in 56 games on the year, a raucous return to form for the veteran. He’d seen his point totals drop steadily in the past few years as his power-play opportunities dwindled, bottoming out with a career-low 18 points in 51 games last year before Florida’s run to the Stanley Cup. He’s reclaimed top power-play minutes this year after Oliver Ekman-Larsson and Brandon Montour left in free agency, though, and his performance (and ice time) have benefitted as a result.

His top-pairing minutes alongside Gustav Forsling will now presumably go to fresh trade pickup Seth Jones down the stretch. The Cats still have plenty of meaningful games remaining as they try to battle out the Maple Leafs and Lightning for the Atlantic Division title and secure home ice through the first two rounds of the playoffs, simultaneously avoiding having to play both powerhouses in Tampa Bay in Toronto in back-to-back rounds as they attempt to gain a third consecutive Eastern Conference Final berth. Jones, who’s averaged 21 minutes per game since the trade while quarterbacking the Panthers’ second power-play unit, is still looking for his first point in a Florida uniform.

It’s worth noting Ekblad, the Panthers’ franchise leader in games played among defensemen, may have ended his regular-season tenure in South Florida on a sour note. He’s a pending unrestricted free agent and could head elsewhere on the open market in July.

Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Penguins Sign Daniel Laatsch To Entry-Level Contract

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The Penguins announced they’ve signed defenseman Daniel Laatsch to a two-year, entry-level contract covering the 2025-26 and 2026-27 campaigns. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Pittsburgh selected Laatsch in the seventh round of the 2021 draft, and they were at risk of losing the 23-year-old’s signing rights if they didn’t agree on an ELC by Aug. 15. The 6’5″ lefty is the second collegiate Pens prospect to sign his entry-level contract in as many days, joining Michigan Tech defender Chase Pietila.

Laatsch, 23, just wrapped up his fourth and final season at Wisconsin. The Badgers lost their Big 10 playoff series against Ohio State last weekend and aren’t expected to garner a berth for the national tournament. Laatsch’s point totals indicate a pure stay-at-home presence, completing his collegiate career with just 6-20–26 in 126 games with a plus-five rating. Injuries limited Laatsch to 22 appearances in 2024-25, logging 2-3–5 with a plus-one rating.

He’s a player the organization’s liked for a while. Pittsburgh director of player development Tom Kostopoulos said last summer they mused signing Laatsch after his junior season but opted to have him return to Wisconsin for his senior campaign. Knocks on Laatsch will consist of his lanky frame for his height (just 183 lbs). While he plays an intelligent defensive game, he does so without crossing the line physically – he recorded just 18 PIMs across four seasons at Wisconsin.

He can report to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton down the stretch on a tryout but is ineligible to make his NHL debut until next season. He’ll be a restricted free agent upon expiry of his deal in the 2027 offseason.

Laatsch was one of five picks Pittsburgh made in the 2021 draft. None have played NHL games yet, and they already relinquished the signing rights to one of the picks (defenseman Ryan McCleary).

Blackhawks Activate Jason Dickinson From Injured Reserve

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Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson will return to the lineup for tonight’s game against the Avalanche, Mark Lazerus of The Athletic reports. The team announced he’s been activated from injured reserve, and since the 23-man roster limit is no longer in effect after the trade deadline, no corresponding transaction is coming.

The 29-year-old has played center for the entire season but will shift to right wing alongside Connor Bedard in his return. He missed just over a month after sustaining a high ankle sprain against the Oilers on Feb. 5. The 4 Nations break limited the number of games he missed to 11.

Once a depth piece for the Stars and Canucks, Dickinson has emerged as a leadership piece for Chicago along with being one of their better two-way forwards. The alternate captain posted a career-high 22 goals and 35 points while playing in all 82 games last season, earning himself a two-year, $8.25MM extension in the process.

This year hasn’t been as fruitful offensively for Dickinson, who’s posted a more conservative 7-9–16 scoring line through 53 games. He’s averaging 15:56 per game, down slightly from last season, and has won 49% of his draws. After finishing 12th in Selke Trophy voting last season, his possession numbers have also dipped. He’s posted a minus-seven rating after logging a plus-four last year (on a team with a -111 goal differential), and his even-strength CF% has dropped by three percentage points from 46.4 to 43.4.

Now, he’ll head to Bedard’s wing while no doubt taking most of the faceoffs in an effort to help boost the 19-year-old’s two-way play. Bedard, Chicago’s most-used forward by a humongous margin at 20:22 per game, has a 43.4% shot attempt share at even strength that’s 0.6% worse than his off-ice share. Dickinson, despite his absence, still leads Blackhawks forwards in blocks (49) and ranks third in hits (93).

Per this morning’s line rushes, Pat Maroon heads to the press box to make way for Dickinson’s return. The veteran grinder had played in 13 straight games, recording 2-3–5 with a minus-one rating and five PIMs.

Snapshots: Rantanen, Husso, Poitras

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The Avalanche’s final offer to winger Mikko Rantanen in extension negotiations earlier this season was an eight-year, $93.2MM deal worth $11.65MM per season, Pierre LeBrun of TSN and The Athletic confirmed today. While that obviously wasn’t an offer Rantanen agreed to, it was close enough to encourage the winger’s camp to keep negotiating throughout the rest of the regular season – a plan foiled when Colorado instead opted to deal him to the Hurricanes. LeBrun reaffirms the notion at the time that Rantanen and his camp were blindsided by the deal, instead believing they were close enough in talks to continue ironing out a deal to keep him in Colorado. He also confirmed that the Canes’ offer to Rantanen was an eight-year, $100MM deal as previously reported, but that he ended up taking less in last week’s trade-and-sign with the Stars because he “just wasn’t feeling the fit in Carolina.”

More from around the league today:

  • The Ducks announced they’ve reassigned goaltender Ville Husso to AHL San Diego. The veteran third-stringer, acquired from the Red Wings last month, backed up Lukáš Dostál for the second straight contest in last night’s win over the Islanders while John Gibson remains sidelined with a lower-body issue. They’ve sent him to the minors on off-days during Gibson’s absence, so today’s move isn’t necessarily an indication Gibson will be ready to return when Anaheim hosts the Capitals tomorrow. Husso has yet to play for the Ducks since the swap, but the 30-year-old has a .894 SV%, 3.27 GAA, one shutout, and a 3-1-0 record in four showings for San Diego.
  • While the Bruins’ reassignment of Matthew Poitras on Friday was expected to be a short-term one to make him eligible for the AHL playoffs, Steve Conroy of the Boston Herald reports that isn’t the case. The 21-year-old center remains in Providence as this week gets underway and will remain there for the foreseeable future, potentially the rest of the regular season. The 2022 second-rounder has 1-10–11 in 33 NHL appearances this season after notching 5-10–15 in the exact same number of showings last year.

Sharks Recall Jimmy Schuldt

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They waited a few days after sending him down Friday for AHL playoff eligibility purposes, but the Sharks announced today they’ve added defenseman Jimmy Schuldt back to their roster. They now have an extra defenseman available for tomorrow’s game against the Predators after rolling without one for Saturday’s loss to the Islanders.

Schuldt, 29, suited up in San Jose’s final game before the trade deadline after they recalled him from the minors earlier in the week. It was the 6’1″ lefty’s first NHL appearance in nearly six years and just the second of his career after debuting in April 2019 as a member of the Golden Knights.

Signed by Vegas as an undrafted free agent that year out of St. Cloud State, the Minnesota native has spent the last six years as a farmhand for the Knights, Sabres, Kraken, and now Sharks. A two-way defender with good puck-moving skills, he’s now the captain of San Jose’s AHL club after signing a two-way deal last summer with an $800K cap hit and $400K guarantee. He has 5-13–18 in 54 games for the Barracuda this season, ranking second on the club with a +15 rating.

Schuldt logged 14:15 in his Sharks debut against the Avalanche last week and posted three shots on goal with one hit. He had a good showing in sheltered minutes, controlling shots 9-3 at 5v5 and scoring chances 7-4, per Natural Stat Trick.

The fledgling Sharks would love to continue getting that play out of Schuldt as a third-pairing fill-in down the stretch. San Jose will have increased opportunity for depth blue-liners down the stretch after trading No. 1 option Jake Walman to the Oilers last week, creating space for young names like Shakir Mukhamadullin and Henry Thrun while also providing more playing time for depth vets like Schuldt. San Jose now has 22 players on their active roster and has used up one of their four post-deadline recalls.

Latest On The Pittsburgh Penguins

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes that the Pittsburgh Penguins never came close to dealing forward Rickard Rakell prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. The Penguins reportedly didn’t care to deal Rakell and were happy to hold onto him, despite receiving several offers for his services. Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas doesn’t want the Penguins to tank over the next few years and instead hopes to mirror the retool that the Washington Capitals recently went through.

Dubas did make plenty of moves leading up to the deadline, but didn’t move any of the bigger names such as Rakell or Erik Karlsson. Yohe believes that the Penguins would like to move Karlsson in the summer and are willing to retain as much as $3MM to facilitate a move. Karlsson hasn’t been terrible in Pittsburgh, but his style of play has not meshed well, and he has not been the Norris Trophy defenseman that Pittsburgh thought they were trading for in the summer of 2023.

If the Penguins move on from Karlsson, it will put more pressure on defenseman Kris Letang. Although it’s questionable as to whether he will stick around. Yohe speculates that Dubas will approach Letang to see if he still has interest in remaining in Pittsburgh during their roster turnover. Letang has a full no trade clause and three years remaining on his contract at a $6.1MM AAV. His actual salary in those three years will be $4.8MM per year, which could be appealing for teams on an internal budget. Letang is having arguably the worst season of his professional career but remains a top four NHL defenseman. He hasn’t publicly expressed any interest in moving on from the Penguins.

Yohe expects teams to call Pittsburgh this summer about forward Bryan Rust as his full no movement clause expires. While teams will be interested, Yohe doesn’t believe the Penguins want to move the veteran, who is playing some of the best hockey of his career with 21 goals and 26 assists in 55 games this season.

Given the nature of the Penguins’ deadline, and a desire to keep high character veterans in the fold, it looks as though the Penguins intend to turn things around quickly rather than enduring a five-year rebuild. Yohe acknowledges that next year will be tough for Pittsburgh, but the Penguins are hoping to contend for a playoff spot again in the next two years.

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