It’s imperative that the Penguins get a top-five pick in next year’s NHL draft. It’s a top-heavy draft. Potential stars are available, not least Penn State’s Gavin McKenna, the presumptive first choice overall.

President of hockey ops/GM Kyle Dubas has done a good job restocking the Penguins’ system. But that system lacks a likely star.

That noted, why the heck are wingers Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust still on the Penguins?

I get why Erik Karlsson is still there.

He’s 35, a human hand grenade on defense and carries a salary cap hit of $11.5 million through the 2026-27 season. (Former employer San Jose kept $1.5 million of that.) He’s also got a total no-movement clause. Karlsson must approve whatever team he goes to.

But Karlsson is only owed $4 million in actual salary for the coming season, the Penguins having paid a $5 million bonus due on July 1. He’s cheap. All it takes is one contender fooling itself into thinking Karlsson can find his old form and be the missing link.

Rakell and Rust are easier to move. Neither has a no-movement clause. Rust had one, but it expired July 1.

Rakell, 32, had a career-best 35 goals last season.

Rust, 33, had a career-best 31 goals last season. Rust is a two-time Stanley Cup champion. He’s versatile and plays winning hockey. He’d serve a contender well.

You might get more for either at the coming season’s trade deadline.

But what if Rakell or Rust are hurt at the trade deadline? Rust has missed 20 or more games in four of his last six seasons.

The primary goal of trading Rakell and Rust isn’t to get great return.

It’s to get them off the Penguins so the team can finish near the NHL’s bottom and get as many balls as possible in the draft lottery.

What if the Penguins won the lottery and got McKenna? After winning the lottery to get Sidney Crosby in 2005 and tanking to get Mario Lemieux in 1984. Several NHL cities might spontaneously combust. I’ll bring the marshmallows.

Right now, the Penguins have bad defense and questionable goaltending.

But they could put together three decent lines.

That needs to be sabotaged.

That’s the reality of the upcoming season. Anybody complaining about that should examine the foundation the franchise’s greatness is built upon.

Every once in a while, you’ve got to suck. Embrace it. Don’t be the Steelers. Avoid the mushy middle.

It would be a shame if Crosby’s points-per-game streak got sacrificed at the altar of having inferior wings to play with.

But that can’t be a major concern. Anyway, he’s already got the NHL record at 20 seasons.

Put Evgeni Malkin on his wing. Crosby’s preference is a big reason Malkin is still a Penguin.

Or youth can be served: Use rookies Ville Koivunen and/or Rutger McGroarty.

If either Rakell or Rust was kept to skate on Crosby’s wing till the trade deadline, that wouldn’t be outrageous. But it’s not what’s best for rebuilding.

It would be sad to see Rust go. Rust is OG.

Part of me thinks there’s value in retaining Rust and letting him be an influence on the younger players. But that’s Crosby’s job, and he’s good at it.

Keeping Rust would be subverting reality for the sake of nostalgia. That’s what put the Penguins in their current hole.

Trading Rakell and/or Rust will reopen questions about Crosby’s future. Will he finish his career as a Penguin?

I believe that is 100% Crosby’s intent.

I also believe this season will be so bad as to test his resolve.

Here’s hoping Canada’s hockey team gets gold at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy by way of satiating Crosby’s lust for winning.

Winning is all Crosby wants to do.

That’s going to continue posing a problem for him in Pittsburgh.

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