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Rickard Rakell

Teams Maintain Interest In Penguins’ Rakell And Rust

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With the main wave of free agency behind them, teams that missed out on big-name signings may now be shifting their focus to the trade market. And at the top of that list are Pittsburgh Penguins forwards Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, the Fourth Period reports.

Trade speculation surrounding both players isn’t new, especially given that the Penguins are one of the few teams currently in a rebuilding phase. While GM Kyle Dubas hasn’t explicitly stated that either player is off-limits, it’s believed the Penguins would need to be blown away by an offer to part with them. There doesn’t appear to be immediate urgency to move either winger, especially since both have team-friendly deals.

Rust has three years remaining on his contract, which comes with a $5.125MM AAV. The 33-year-old is coming off a career-best season, posting 31 goals and 65 points in 71 games. He has spent his entire career in the Penguins organization after the team selected him in the third round (80th overall) in the 2010 draft. In 638 career games, he’s recorded 427 points, with his 203 goals ranking ninth in franchise history. Rust also excels as a penalty killer and has a history of elevating his game and scoring timely goals in the playoffs. While Rust has expressed interest in remaining in Pittsburgh, his no-trade clause recently expired, thus taking that decision out of his hands.

Rakell bounced back with a strong 2024-25 season after a down year the previous season. In 81 games, Rakell posted a career-best 35 goals and 70 points in 81 games last season, mainly playing alongside Rust and Sidney Crosby. The sharpshooting right winger has three years remaining on an extremely team-friendly $5MM AAV contract. Rakell has eclipsed the 30-goal plateau three times in his career, and the 20-goal mark six times.

Several teams have been recently linked to the duo, including the Hurricanes, before inking Nikolaj Ehlers to a new six-year contract. The Fourth Period also includes Toronto, Los Angeles, San Jose, New Jersey, Buffalo, and Seattle among the teams looking to upgrade their top-six.

While Dubas and the Penguins’ front office would need to be impressed to make a move, with over $15 million in cap space (per PuckPedia), they could be open to taking on a large salary if it sweetens the deal and keeps the other team cap-compliant.

 

East Notes: Rust, Rakell, Boeser, Tambellini

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According to Josh Yohe of The Athletic, before inking Nikolaj Ehlers to a new six-year contract, the Carolina Hurricanes were interested in a pair of veteran wingers from the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Hurricanes reportedly called on the availability of Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, and league sources believe one of the two will be dealt this summer.

Given his use of the past tense in his article, it doesn’t appear that Carolina has continued their interest in Rust or Rakell. Still, with more than $10MM in cap space after adding Ehlers, the Hurricanes could conceivably add another top-six winger to their forward group to put themselves over the top in the Eastern Conference.

Neither player has indicated a desire to leave the Penguins organization, but neither has the necessary protection to block a trade outright. If Carolina reconsiders in the offseason, they would likely target Rust for a middle-six role, adding more physicality and playoff experience to a high-skill lineup.

Other notes from the Eastern Conference:

  • Although they only came away with Jonathan Drouin to improve their offensive woes, the New York Islanders had their eyes on a bigger prize once free agency began. According to a new article from Stefen Rosner in The Elmonters, the Islanders were the highest on the list for winger Brock Boeser, if he wanted to leave Vancouver. Ultimately, although he would have been a tremendous goal-scoring asset for New York, Boeser remained with the Canucks on a new seven-year, $50.75MM deal.
  • The Tampa Bay Lightning announced that they’ve hired Jeff Tambellini as their new Assistant General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations. Tambellini is a former six-year veteran of the NHL, playing for the Islanders, Canucks, and Los Angeles Kings. He had previously worked for the Lightning as a collegiate scout from 2020 to 2022 and the Seattle Kraken’s Director of Player Development from 2022 to 2025.

Will The Penguins Trade One Of Sidney Crosby’s Wingers?

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The Penguins have faced numerous challenges over the past few years – some regrettable trades and dwindling attendance. They’re on the verge of missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season, following a remarkable streak of 16 straight postseason appearances from 2007 to 2022. This year will mark only the fourth time in captain Sidney Crosby’s illustrious 20-year career that he missed the playoffs. While many media pundits speculate about his desire to join a contender, Crosby has consistently expressed his commitment to finishing his career with the Penguins and being part of their future success. The organization seems eager to accommodate him, which raises an important question: Would the Penguins trade one of Crosby’s favorite wingers for a second time in the last 18 months?

Trading Rickard Rakell has been a consideration for the Penguins; reports indicate they sought a substantial return at the NHL Trade Deadline but ultimately decided to keep the 31-year-old winger for the remainder of the season. However, not trading him this year doesn’t preclude a potential deal during the summer. Rakell has three years left on his contract with a reasonable $5MM cap hit, and his value may never be higher than it is now. The Penguins could capitalize on this opportunity and accelerate their retooling efforts, but at what cost? Crosby would lose a preferred winger again, and the Penguins lack players in their system who could effectively replace Rakell.

General manager Kyle Dubas has indicated that the franchise does not want to bottom out. They fear the emergence of a losing culture affecting their players, a concern supported by the 2010 Edmonton Oilers’ repeated struggle to escape the bottom of the NHL standings despite multiple top-five picks.

For their part, the Penguins have said they are comfortable keeping Rakell. While that won’t please the fans hoping for a tank next season, it could ultimately help the Penguins’ youth movement, who will get to study the game under the tutelage of Crosby and Rakell.

If the Pens opt to go a different direction, Rakell could be traded for a haul and possibly even lead to an impact prospect, which is missing from the Penguins’ retool and is on Dubas’ radar (as per Josh Yohe of The Athletic). The Penguins GM has done well building the prospect pipeline, but Pittsburgh doesn’t have anyone in their system who screams franchise cornerstone. The other factor when considering a Rakell move is that he wasn’t good last season, tallying just 15 goals and 22 assists in 70 games. Should he fall back to that production level, his $5MM AAV looks less appealing, which would hurt his trade value and the Penguins’ potential return.

The other Crosby winger that the Penguins could consider moving is Bryan Rust. The 32-year-old has hovered around the point-per-game mark since 2019 and has three more years on his deal at a very economical $5.13MM per season. The Pontiac, Michigan native is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Penguins and remains one of the last holdovers from the 2016 and 2017 teams that won back-to-back championships. Rust remains a heart and soul player for Pittsburgh, and like Rakell, his value might never be higher. Rust would likely be a more challenging trade for Pens fans to swallow, given that he was drafted and developed by the team and is viewed by many as a man who should be wearing a letter in Pittsburgh.

On the flip side, Rust would also bring a strong return to Pittsburgh and could help move the Penguins’ retool along. It’s not unreasonable to think they would get a first-round pick and a prospect or two for Rust, which makes holding onto him even more complicated, even though the Penguins are keeping their superstar captain happy in doing so.

The Penguins owe a lot to Crosby; some might say he saved the franchise in 2005. Some might also say Crosby is loyal to a fault, and given the evidence, it’s easy to see why. The 37-year-old has never taken market value on a contract, playing under an $8.7MM cap hit since the 2008-09 season, and has almost always kept himself out of team business except for the Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang contract negotiations in the summer of 2022. Crosby also watched his preferred winger, Jake Guentzel, get traded away last March without a complaint. He’s perhaps the most loyal athlete in professional sports history.

But, as mentioned earlier, the talk leading into the NHL Trade Deadline was once again about trading one of Crosby’s preferred wingers, Rakell. Rust has also been mentioned in trade rumors, and given that his entire no-move clause ends this summer, he could be a name that is moved. But what kind of a message would it send to the superstar center who has given his all to the Penguins?

Many hockey pundits have speculated on whether or not Crosby will finish his career in Pittsburgh. Still, Crosby has done everything he can to dispel those rumors, including signing a two-year extension last September. It is easy to question Crosby’s decision, given the direction of the Penguins during the previous three seasons and the roster’s current state. However, looking at what Dubas has done in the last 12 months, it’s not impossible to imagine the team returning to relevance before the end of Crosby’s aforementioned two-year extension that is set to start next season. With all of that being said, Pittsburgh is still in a retool that they refuse to call a rebuild, and Crosby still very much wants to win, which has made it difficult to embrace a rebuild fully and has put Dubas in a position where he can’t fully commit to a youth movement. Penguins’ ownership and management appear committed to the retooling strategy, and Crosby is also on board based on how he spoke to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast.

Regardless of who Dubas moves out, this offseason will be a franchise-defining one. They could push in and make aggressive moves over the next 12 months to try and get Crosby and the Penguins back into the playoff picture in what could be teammate Evgeni Malkin’s last season in the NHL.

The team could also continue gradually adding to their pipeline and draft picks. Either way, the Penguins are at a strange fork in the road as they try to navigate the past, the present, and the future of an organization that has had megastars and championships on the regular since the beginning of the 1990s.

Dubas must decide whether to retool around Sidney Crosby, which likely means keeping Rakell and Rust for one last run or leaning into a deeper rebuild that could see one or both of them sent away via trade. Whatever the case, it’s safe to assume spring and summer will bring a lot of trade winds for the Penguins, as they also have star defenseman Erik Karlsson, who will likely be traded.

Photo by Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Penguins And Predators To Face-Off In 2025 Global Series

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will return to Stockholm next season to face-off against the Nashville Predators in the 2025 NHL Global Series in Sweden, per an NHL announcement.

The games are slated for Nov. 14 and Nov. 16 and will be played at Avicii Arena. The Penguins are returning to Sweden after taking part in the 2008 NHL Premiere Series. It will represent the second time leaders Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang will take part in games overseas.

The series will represent a homecoming for players on both sides. For the Penguins, Norris Trophy winner Erik Karlsson, as well as 30-goal winger Rickard Rakell will participate (barring injury of course), while the Peds will be represented by forward Filip Forsberg and defenders Adam Wilsby and Andreas Englund.

The NHL Global Series, started in 2017 in games between the Ottawa Senators and Colorado Avalanche in Stockholm, continues a long history of international competition for NHLers. This includes the 1938 European Tour between Red Wings and Canadians (a seven-game series that the Canadians won 4-3), the 1979–80 Super Series between Russian teams and NHL squads, and most recently the NHL Premiere Series, which ran from 2007 to 2011.

Rakell and Karlsson both expressed their excitement in playing in the series. Karlsson said the series will be a “great experience” and noted how fun it will be to play before family and friends in his home country. There is speculation surrounding Karlsson’s long-term future in Pittsburgh, so it’s not exactly a certainty he’ll be a Penguin next November.

Swedish-born Predators also expressed their excitement surrounding the series, including Forsberg who noted, “It’s obviously going to be a great time, a great opportunity for me.”

While it’s the first time Nashville will play in Sweden, it’s the organization’s third international trip. They played the Sharks in the 2022 Global Series in Prague, as well as a series against Pittsburgh at the GAME One Japan series in 2000.

In the 2008 Global Series, the Penguins split two games with the Senators. In those games, Crosby registered two assists, Malkin had a goal and an assist, and Letang registered nearly 50 minutes of total ice time between the two contests.

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.

Oilers Showed Interest In Mikko Rantanen, Ryan Donato, Rickard Rakell

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It was a quiet but impactful Trade Deadline for the Edmonton Oilers. They brought in top-four defenseman Jake Walman and bottom-six bruiser Trent Frederic to bolster an offense that already ranked eighth in total goals this season. But as the dust begins to settle, it seems Edmonton came close to a far more exciting deadline season, and even had a chance at Carolina Hurricanes asset Mikko Rantanen. Edmonton was reportedly close to agreeing on extension terms with Rantanen, but ultimately couldn’t build a trade package that enticed Carolina enough to land the deal, shares TSN’s Ryan Rishaug. In the end, Rantanen was moved to the Dallas Stars in exchange for top young forward Logan Stankoven, two first-round draft picks, and two third-round picks.

It’s hard to imagine Edmonton could put together an offer better than that. Edmonton only has one pick – a 2026 second – in the top-two rounds of 2025 and 2026. They also don’t have nearly the young talent that Dallas had to offer. Vasily Podkolzin is almost certainly their closest comparable – one year older and as NHL engrained as Stankoven – and he’d be hard to move after a nice stylistic fit in Edmonton has led him to 21 points in 61 games this year. The Oilers could have offered top prospect Matthew Savoie, who ranks third on the AHL’s Bakersfield Condors in scoring with 40 points in 47 games. But neither asset quite stands up to Stankoven’s pedigree, and it’s likely their lacking draft capital was the ultimate dividing line.

Rishaug adds that Edmonton also tested the waters on acquiring top winger Rickard Rakell from the Pittsburgh Penguins, and red-hot centerman Ryan Donato from the Chicago Blackhawks. Rakell has been a standout, top-line option for the Penguins this season – boasting 29 goals and 53 points in 64 games this season. That scoring – and his standing as one of a few bright spots in Pittsburgh’s season – certainly hiked up his price at the deadline. Especially in the midst of an inflated market, it’s again hard to imagine Edmonton’s empty draft cabinet could have pried Rakell away. Donato would have likely cost much less – though he is having a career year with 23 goals and 48 points in 62 games – but his center role would have buried him down Edmonton’s lineup. In the end, they landed their third-line boost in a deal with the Bruins – and get the boost of adding a hard-nosed enforcer to protect superstars Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl in the postseason.

For as quiet as it ended up, it seems Oilers general manager Stan Bowman made sure to busy up his deadline. The Oilers have six players headed for unrestricted free agency, and two headed for restricted free agency, which should clear up roughly $14.71MM in cap space this summer per PuckPedia. That could be just enough space to get Bowman back on the phones as the NHL Draft and start of free agency role around. The Oilers added plenty of new faces last summer, signing each of Viktor Arvidsson, Jeff Skinner, and Corey Perry to short-term deals.

Latest On The Pittsburgh Penguins

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The Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t expected to have a fire sale prior to the NHL Trade Deadline but they could be one of the busier teams this week according to Josh Yohe of The Athletic. Yohe projects that the Penguins will try and get their bigger moves done mid-week because they will be in Las Vegas on Friday and will have a difficult time getting players to the West Coast if they make moves right at the Deadline.

Yohe believes that Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas and his management team may have altered their plans due to the market shifting and becoming much more of a seller’s market. There are only six teams that are truly in sell mode, and this has led to first round picks being moved routinely in recent weeks. The Penguins have already acquired one in the swap with Vancouver for Marcus Pettersson and could be looking to land another for Rickard Rakell.

Dubas has been stockpiling young assets since last year’s Trade Deadline and is expected to move out more veterans in favor of futures. Most of the roster appears to be in play except for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Bryan Rust, and likely Kris Letang.

Defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, and forwards Anthony Beauvillier and Noel Acciari are available and Yohe speculates that at least one of them will be moved. Grzelcyk and Beauvillier are UFAs this summer and are unlikely to remain in Pittsburgh long term, so moving them makes sense even though the return will be minimal. Acciari seems the least likely to go as he has another year on his deal at $2MM and Dubas has always had an affinity for the 33-year-old.

Then there is the Erik Karlsson $10MM question. Yohe guesses that a summer deal is more likely for the three-time Norris Trophy winner as no trade talks have happened yet and he hasn’t been asked to waive his no-trade clause. Penguins’ management reportedly believes that Karlsson would be willing to go to other teams, but the list of potential destinations isn’t long.

Several Western Conference teams have expressed interest in forward Rakell, but the Penguins don’t feel any pressure to move him. That being said, given that few teams are selling the Penguins might get an offer in the final few days that is too hard to refuse.

Regardless of what the Penguins do, it’s hard to imagine that they make any moves in net, the team reportedly would like to keep Alex Nedeljkovic around to mentor their younger goaltenders, and Tristan Jarry is unmovable at this point, other than perhaps swapping him for another overpriced player who is underperforming.

Latest On Rickard Rakell

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes about Pittsburgh Penguins forward Rickard Rakell and what the team might do with the 31-year-old as they approach the NHL Trade Deadline. Yohe believes that the Penguins would be open to trading Rakell if a team offers up a first-round pick and a prospect who is close to being NHL-ready. That being said, Pittsburgh is also open to holding onto him if they aren’t blown away by the trade offers they receive.

Rakell is generating trade interest thanks to a terrific bounce-back season that has seen him tally 25 goals and 23 assists in 56 games. The Sundbyberg, Sweden native was an afterthought earlier in the year when it came to Sweden’s 4 Nations Face-Off roster but played his way onto the team late as injuries and a strong season opened the door for him to join his countrymen.

It’s quite the story, given that a year ago, many people in the hockey community were looking at Rakell’s contract as a problem for the Penguins. He was limited to 15-22–37 in 70 contests in 2023-24, his lowest production in a full season in nearly a decade. A year later, his $5MM cap hit looks pretty good, even if it does carry him for another three seasons until he is 34.

Rakell has played almost exclusively with Crosby this season and has developed excellent chemistry with him and Bryan Rust. The trio has skated over 400 minutes together at 5v5 and has controlled a sparkling 56.3% of expected goals, per MoneyPuck. If the Penguins were to trade Rakell, it would mark the second consecutive season they have dealt Crosby’s preferred winger after the team traded Jake Guentzel last March.

While a Rakell trade is possible, Yohe believes that the Penguins will likely hold onto him and see if his value is higher in the summer when the salary cap increases. The Penguins have good reasons to keep the six-time 20-goal scorer, but with their eyes set on a quick roster retool, trading Rakell could go a long way to acquiring valuable assets to turn things around in a hurry.

Evening Notes: Evangelista, Rakell, Brodin, Johansson

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Nashville Predators forward Luke Evangelista did not dress tonight against the Ottawa Senators and is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. Evangelista only recently returned from an eight-game absence and left Saturday’s game against the Pittsburgh Penguins for a brief period before he returned to the bench. The extended absence was due to a lower-body injury, and it is not yet known if the two injuries are related. Vinnie Hinostroza suited up for the Predators in place of Evangelista and joined Ryan O’Reilly and Filip Forsberg on the second line.

The 22-year-old Evangelista has dressed in 31 games this season, tallying five goals and ten assists while averaging just shy of 13 minutes of ice time per game. The Toronto, Ontario native garnered some Calder Trophy consideration last season for the top rookie after a solid campaign that saw him post 16 goals and 23 assists in 80 games.

In other evening notes:

  • Pittsburgh Penguins forward Rickard Rakell will replace Vegas Golden Knights forward William Karlsson on Team Sweden at the upcoming 4 Nations Face-Off (as per Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff). Rakell is having a nice bounce-back season, registering 23 goals and 22 assists in 53 games, and he will have an opportunity to add to a solid international career that has seen him capture gold medals in the 2012 World Juniors as well as the 2018 IIHF World Championship. Karlsson, on the other hand, has been sidelined for the last six games due to a lower-body injury and will unfortunately miss out on the opportunity to represent his home country.
  • The Minnesota Wild will be without the services of Ryan Hartman for the next few weeks but will likely be getting Jonas Brodin and Marcus Johansson back tomorrow night (as per Sarah McLellan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune). Brodin hasn’t played since January 7th, missing 12 consecutive games with a lower-body injury. The timing of the injury was unfortunate as the 31-year-old was heating up at the time with seven points in his past seven games. Johansson’s return would come after an eight-game absence, and he could slide into the lineup in place of Hartman. Johansson has struggled offensively this season, posting just five goals and 11 assists in 44 games.

Penguins Expected To Be Sellers At Trade Deadline

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic believes that the Pittsburgh Penguins will be sellers regardless of their position in the standings. Yohe wrote about the unusual position the Penguins find themselves in heading into the second half of the NHL season. Pittsburgh has fought its way back into the Wild Card conversation in the Eastern Conference, and despite being largely made up of veteran players, general manager Kyle Dubas has his eye on the future and intends to sell.

Yohe says that his league sources predict the Penguins will make multiple moves to jettison veterans and that “no one is safe” on Pittsburgh, except for the players holding full no-trade protection (Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to name a few). Marcus Pettersson is certainly a name Pittsburgh will move on from given his contractual status, but one name that could also go is forward Rickard Rakell. The 31-year-old is having a nice bounce-back season with 22 goals in 45 games. However, Yohe pours cold water on that notion, saying that Pittsburgh is likely to hold onto him for this year unless they receive a big offer.

While all signs point to Pittsburgh packing it in for the season and missing the playoffs for a third straight year, Yohe believes that the Penguins may see the trading of veteran players as an opportunity to call up some of their prospects who are NHL-ready, most notably goaltender Joel Blomqvist who is arguably the best netminder in the Penguins entire organization and their best chance at steady goaltending. Tristan Jarry has struggled for well over a calendar year and doesn’t look like an NHL goaltender at the moment, and Alex Nedeljkovic has been wildly inconsistent this season after putting together a nice campaign a year ago.

While the Penguins would love to move on from some of their pricier veterans, they will be in tough to do so as Jarry has three years left on his contract after this season with an AAV of $5.375MM, and defenseman Ryan Graves has four years on his deal at $4.5MM. Those deals were two of the first contracts Dubas handed out in Pittsburgh, and they’ve aged like milk. In previous years, those types of contracts would have been untradeable, but with the cap rising next season, it’s not out of the question that the Penguins could move on from those players in the next six months.

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