Penguins A to Z: Rickard Rakell has met expectations
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With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2022-23 season coming to an end without any postseason action, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 49 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until next season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Corey Andonovski to top-six winger Jason Zucker.
This series will publish every weekday leading into the NHL Draft on June 28 and 29.
(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)
Rickard Rakell
Position: Right winger
Shoots: Right
Age: 30
Height: 6-foot-1
Weight: 195 pounds
2022-23 NHL statistics: 82 games, 60 points (28 goals, 32 assists)
Contract: In the first year of a six-year contract with a salary cap hit of $5 million. Pending unrestricted free agent in the 2028 offseason.
(Note: Rakell’s contract contains a modified no-trade clause which allows him to submit a list of eight teams he would not accept a trade to.)
Acquired: Trade, March 21, 2022
Last season: Rickard Rakell could have gone almost anywhere last summer.
A pending unrestricted free agent for the first time in his career, Rakell could have been a hot commodity on the open market. After all, he was still 29 at the time and coming off a 20-goal season. A two-time All-Star with a handful of 30-goal campaigns on his resume, Rakell is a talented and skilled player capable of playing either wing.
He would have had no shortage of suitors when the free agent signing period opened in mid-July. And he could have easily commanded a bigger deal — both in money and term — than what he accepted with the Penguins.
But he opted to stay with the Penguins, who acquired him from the Anaheim Ducks at the 2022 trade deadline.
Rakell acknowledged he could have collected some bigger checks elsewhere, but the Penguins offered him something profound.
“A big thing for me was having the chance to win,” Rakell said after his contract was signed. “I had a really good feeling about the Penguins the second when I got there.”
Things didn’t play out that way as the Penguins missed the playoff for the first time in 17 years.
But that shortcoming wasn’t due to any failing on Rakell’s behalf. He largely lived up to the parameters of his contract.
Appearing in every game of the season, Rakell was the team’s fourth-leading scorer while primarily flipping between the first and second lines and establishing a role on the top power-play unit.
Rakell’s finest moment of 2022-23 might not have even involved any offense.
During a 3-2 home win against the New York Rangers on Dec. 21, Rakell helped initiate a comeback from a one-goal deficit on a single shift.
After walloping Rangers forward Filip Chytil to the ice with a heavy check, Rakell drew a hooking penalty from Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller that led to a power-play goal by forward Evgeni Malkin 41 seconds later.
While the Penguins struggled to maintain a hold on a playoff position in the final weeks of the regular season, Rakell did just about everything he could to keep his team in contention. In the final 10 games of the campaign, he led the team with 10 points (three goals, seven assists).
The future: There really isn’t much to audit in regard to Rakell’s status with the club. He is signed long-term and shows few, if any, deficiencies.
Possessing enough malleability to mesh well with either Malkin or Sidney Crosby at center, Rakell has clear offensive attributes and some underlying defensive acumen. He even offers something of a physical edge at times.
With the exception of winning, Rakell has met expectations.