To some extent, making a deal and burning a future asset in exchange for help has now ended up winning Pittsburgh at the NHL deal deadline. The Penguins acquired forward Rickard Raquell from the Anaheim Ducks.
Zach Aston-Reese, Dominic Simon, prospect and 2022 second round pick, obviously return to ANA from PIT on Ricard Rackelle. The sales call hasn’t been made yet, so nothing official yet.
— Bobby Margarita (@TSNBobMcKenzie) March 21, 2022
Rackell, 28, has a $3.78 million salary cap, more than Aston Reese and Simon combined, so the Ducks can keep some salary. The final details of the deal, including the specifics of who Pittsburgh is sending, remain unknown as the NHL processes and completes a number of deals that come in just before the 2:59:59 deadline.
For the Pens, this could be “the best deal in the world.” We desperately needed a striker who could get the puck into the net. Rackell has scored 30+ goals in the NHL twice, with 16 goals and 12 assists in 51 games this season.
Ironically, however, for a team that was in dire need of someone to finish, Rackell hasn’t always been the top hitter in this area with a usually low scoring percentage over the past few seasons.
To add to the list of reasons why this could also be a slow start, Rackell has missed the Ducks’ last three games due to injury.
However, one of Rackell’s strengths is his rush play, which combined with his scoring lead to think he could be an interesting player to try Evgeni Malkin and probably do what Kasperi should have done. Kapanen.
Raquell @penguins
Strengths:
• How to get to the scoring areas
• Attack in a hurry
• Tendency to shoot first
• Often plays in good puck support positions.25th in hurried throws, all sit for hitters
— Megan Chaika (@MeghanChayka) March 21, 2022
Rackell isn’t looking to improve much on defense and his stats are on the decline since his peak in 2016-18, though perhaps due to some team effects.
Rickard Rackell, traded to PIT, is a mid-six scorer who had scoring problems two seasons prior. Doesn’t really create for itself; he is best used close to a playmaker center who can hit him with dangerous passes… #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/pc68ZcrYEr
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) March 21, 2022
In return, the Pans waive two minors on their depth chart, Zach Aston-Reese and Dominic Simon, and also pick in the second round. Aston-Reese will be missed in the PK, although he has proven to be a replaceable aspect of this group. Speaking of replacements, Simon has good advanced stats but hasn’t played a big role and his low stats make him a good candidate to go the other way and not lose too much.
In the end, the biggest loss will be this year’s second-round pick, which GM Ron Hextall probably didn’t want to change. However, with his team back at the ready and looking like one of the best teams in the Capital Division and the East, their biggest weakness was the need for another finisher and scoring striker.
Turning down a second-round pick is more than worth it to add a player like Raquell, even if he ends up being just a loan player. He can do what the Penguins need, and unlike other jobs in the league, it didn’t cost too much to add him to the team. The Pens will also drop an as of yet unnamed “outlook”, but that doesn’t change the calculation of this trade much because, frankly, they don’t have good enough prospects to worry about losing at this stage.
For a long time it seemed like the Pence preferred to use what they have on hand, but the latest move strengthens the team and makes it a better team for the future. Hextall was indebted to the team for the way they played this season.
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Predicted playoff roster
Jake Genzel – Sidney Crosby – Brian Rust
Jason Zucker – Evgeni Malkin – Rickard Rackell
Evan Rodriguez – Jeff Carter – Kasperi Kapanen
Danton Heinen – Teddy Blueger – Brock McGinn
Brian Dumoulin / Chris Letang
Mike Matheson / John Marino
Markus Pettersson / Chad Ruwedel
Substitutes: Brian Boyle, Mark Friedman, Nathan Beaulieu, Radim Zohorna
There’s still room for proper sorting of the lines, but if Pittsburgh’s healthy forwards from the top 9 and even the top 12 look very good right now. They will need the likes of Zucker, Raquell and Kapanen to hold their own, but they are also in good conditions right now to do so.
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Survey
For reporting a deal between Pittsburgh and Anaheim that sent Rickard Rackell to Penis.
26%
Love this, great addition from Pens, exciting move! (243 votes)
54%
Pretty good deal, pretty excited (505 votes)
13%
At the moment, I’m completely neutral about this (128 votes)
five%
Don’t like it, turned it down too much and/or Raquel isn’t a guy to get (55 votes)
Total 931 votes Vote now