The Penguins Went 2-1-2 Without Malkin And Crosby. And Rickard Rakell Deserves More Credit For That.

One year ago, folks in Pittsburgh were discussing the aftermath of an NHL trade deadline that came and went without general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas trading one of Erik Karlsson, Bryan Rust, or Rickard Rakell. 

Why? Well, back in those days, the Pittsburgh Penguins were clear sellers at the deadline. They were in the midst of their third consecutive season of likely missing the postseason, and they were already in rebuild mode. So, recouping assets for three of their better players seemed pretty logical. 

The player discussed the most was Rakell, who was putting together the best season of his NHL career. He finished the 2024-25 season with 35 goals and 70 points - both career-highs - and many folks wondered if his value would ever be higher than it was then, even with a rising cap. And, surely, if he wasn't dealt at the deadline, he would be dealt in the summer, right? Or, at least, someone would?

Yet, the summer came and went, and Rakell remained in Pittsburgh. Same with Karlsson and Rust. Flash forward to this season, and Karlsson is having his best overall season in years and has been the Penguins’ best player as of late, and Rust has 25 goals and 53 points in 60 games.

As for Rakell? It's been a bit of a different story, and it's not necessarily even entirely his fault.

After beginning the 2025-26 season with three goals and eight points in nine games - picking up right where he left off last season, and then some -  he broke his hand blocking a shot against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Oct. 25, and he ended up missing 21 games and needed the hand surgically repaired. He didn't return to action until Dec. 13 against the San Jose Sharks. 

And he had a bit of a slow start after coming back from the hand injury - the type of injury that, typically, isn't great news for goal-scorers - as he recorded just two goals and four points in his first 10 games back. He began to pick up a little bit more steam in the 16 games between Jan. 3 and the Olympic break, as he posted six goals and 11 points during that time before joining Karlsson in Milan to represent Team Sweden over the break. 

Even still, that goal-scoring touch that was so outwardly evident last season hadn’t quite come back in full force, and perhaps the Olympics would help him return to form. 

But he came back into the fold to play a role he wasn’t necessarily expecting to play, which threw another wrench into his season. However, this is precisely where things have started to turn for Rakell - and where he showed that he is still, indeed, a very valuable member of this hockey team. 

67 puts us on the board ???? pic.twitter.com/Wk6O9uUs2O

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When captain and first-line center Sidney Crosby went down during the Olympics, the Penguins and the hockey world at large held their collective breath. With Crosby out of the lineup - and limited options on the roster and in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton (WBS) who could be effective in a top-six role - the sharpshooting winger Rakell was asked to play center, a position he hadn’t played regularly in almost a decade. 

It was already a tall ask. But, then, Evgeni Malkin was suspended five games as well, and all of a sudden, Rakell found himself manning, arguably, the most important position on the team as first-line center and was being relied upon to help that line - alongside Bryan Rust and Egor Chinakhov - to be the driver of the bus on offense for the Penguins in the five games they would be without both of the their best players.

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Some folks had their criticisms for Rakell, who mostly struggled in the faceoff dot and began that stint looking a little out of place down the middle. But, game by game, he got better and more comfortable, and he ended up registering a pair of goals and six points in those five games. 

And given the situation he found himself in? He deserves a whole lot more credit for his role in guiding this team to a 2-1-2 finish without two of their best players.

Switching to a relatively unfamiliar position - even if he had played there in the distant past during his career previously - is hard for any player, let alone being thrust into the most relied upon offensive position on the team. Not only was he up to the task by the end of it, he actually started to look pretty comfortable in the last three games filling that role, as he, Chinakhov, and Rust were driving offense at a pretty good rate. The line combined for six goals and 20 points in those five games. 

Even if Rakell isn’t scoring goals at the clip that he did last season - which is understandable given the nature of his injury - his ability to step up and fill a role that is pretty much impossible to fill when it’s 87’s place he was taking speaks volumes about the kind of work ethic, character, and ability he has, and it speaks to the teammate and the player he is as well.

Rakell’s contributions to the Penguins’ stretch without Malkin and Crosby may not have been the flashiest nor the team’s best. But if the Penguins make the playoffs, he will have been a huge reason why - and he deserves his flowers for that.

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