Report: Penguins shop Rust and Rakell after four losses and 21 goals against
First reported by Elliotte Friedman, 32 Thoughts podcast (Sportsnet), via Pro Hockey Rumors · 20 OCT 14:02
Before Kirill Marchenko went from Columbus to Toronto, Pittsburgh tried to get him too, and Rickard Rakell was the piece they offered to sweeten the deal. Elliotte Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast that the Penguins want to get younger and named Bryan Rust among the veterans they would part with, Pro Hockey Rumors reported on Tuesday.
- Pittsburgh are 3-6-1 and have lost four in a row, 3-5 in Chicago, 2-5 in Colorado, 2-6 in Vegas and 4-5 in Utah: 21 goals against in four games.
- Rakell, 33, earns $5.0 million a season and Rust, 34, $5.125 million; both are in the fifth year of six-year deals that run through 2027-28. Rakell has a modified no-trade clause with an eight-team list, CapWages shows.
- Rust left Monday's game in Utah with a lower-body injury after two power-play assists. The team has not given a timeline, and Florida visit Pittsburgh on Thursday.
According to Pro Hockey Rumors' summary of the podcast, the Rakell idea came up while Marchenko was on the market and would have needed a three-way trade with Montreal. It never happened: Columbus sent Marchenko to Toronto on 28 September in the deal that brought Matthew Knies the other way, NHL.com reported. Friedman's point was wider than one trade. In his words as summarised by PHR, Pittsburgh are looking to get younger, and Rust is one of the veterans they would move.
The start explains the timing. After 7-0 in Philadelphia on opening night and three wins in their first six games, the Penguins have dropped four straight in regulation and sit 14th of 16 in the Eastern Conference with 7 points. They score 3.3 goals a game, 12th in the league, but allow 3.8, the fifth-highest rate in the NHL.
Neither veteran is having a big October. Rakell has 1 goal and 3 assists in 10 games on 24 shots. Rust has 3 goals and 2 assists in 7 after missing the first three games, and on Monday he played 9:32 in Salt Lake City before leaving with what the team called a lower-body injury, Daily Faceoff reported. Both deals run one more season after this one, which makes them easier to trade than a pure rental.
What happens next: Florida (5-2-2), winners of three in a row, play at PPG Paints Arena on Thursday, 22 October, at 19:00 local, 23:00 UTC. Nashville visit on Saturday.
Selling forwards won't fix 21 goals against
If Friedman is right, Pittsburgh are answering the wrong question. Their attack is fine at 3.3 goals a game; the problem is the 3.8 they allow, and Rust and Rakell are forwards. Trading them makes the team younger, which is a fair long-term plan, but it will not stop the run of five-goal nights against. If the Penguins hold Florida to two goals or fewer on Thursday, the panic eases and we expect any deal to wait until much closer to the deadline.
- Pro Hockey Rumors (Marcus Antonelli): Penguins Shopping Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell (20 Oct), on Elliotte Friedman's 32 Thoughts podcast
- NHL.com: Maple Leafs acquire Kirill Marchenko in trade with Blue Jackets for Matthew Knies
- Daily Faceoff: Penguins' Bryan Rust leaves game with lower-body injury
- CapWages: Rickard Rakell contract
- CapWages: Bryan Rust contract
- NHL: Penguins 2026-27 schedule and results
- NHL: Penguins at Mammoth, 19 October, game summary
- NHL: standings