Penguins A to Z: Rickard Rakell's skill, speed fit in well in short time here

With the Penguins’ 2021-22 season coming to a quick ending in the first round of the playoffs, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 54 individuals signed to an NHL contract — including those whose deals do not begin until the 2022-23 season — with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.

Rickard Rakell

Position: Right winger

Shoots: Right

Age: 29

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 195 pounds

2021-22 NHL statistics: 70 games, 41 points (20 goals, 21 assists)

Contract: In the final year of a five-year contract with a salary cap hit of $3,789,444. Pending unrestricted free agent this upcoming offseason.

Acquired: Trade, March 21, 2022

(Note: As a condition of the trade that brought him to the Penguins, the Anaheim Ducks retained $1,326,305 of Rakell’s salary cap hit.)

Last season: The Penguins approached the 2022 trade deadline much in the same way as they approached the 2021 deadline.

They proclaimed satisfaction with the incumbent roster then acquired a talented forward from the West Coast.

In April of 2021, they brought in Jeff Carter from the Los Angeles Kings.

Roughly 11 months later, they brought in Rickard Rakell from the Anaheim Ducks.

A first-round pick of the Ducks in 2011, Rakell had enjoyed a mostly productive tenure throughout his career with that franchise. And after a few stagnant seasons, the 2021-22 campaign was something of a resurgence for him.

In 51 games for the Ducks, Rakell posted 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists) while primarily playing on the top line.

After Pat Verbeek was installed as general manager on Feb. 4, the Ducks essentially began a rebuilding process and dealt away Rakell to the Penguins at the trade deadline in exchange for reserve forwards Zach Aston-Reese, Dominik Simon, goaltending prospect Calle Clang and a second-round pick (No. 53 overall) in this year’s draft.

After easing his way into the lineup a bit, Rakell was placed into a variety of prominent roles with the Penguins, most notably as a winger alongside either of the team’s franchise centers, Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.

Fairly reliable after the trade, Rakell put up 13 points (four goals, nine assists) in 19 regular season games with the Penguins while also getting some time on the power play.

Rakell’s postseason was brief. In Game 1 of a first-round series with the New York Rangers, he suffered a head injury during the first period due to a violent high hit by defenseman Ryan Lindgren.

Returning for Game 7 of the series, Rakell was held without a point in two playoff contests.

The future: Like most of the other Penguins’ free agents, Rakell’s future hinges on what the organization decides to do with Malkin as well as All-Star defenseman Kris Letang.

Once those two are squared away one way or another, management can turn to the likes of Rakell and others.

All parties involved seemed happy with the brief union. Rakell appreciated the opportunity to play an aggressive game with the Penguins’ stable of talented luminaries while management seemed satisfied with what they got out of Rakell after paying a steep price to acquire him.

That said, given his skill set, Rakell could easily command a hefty salary in the upcoming free agent market beyond the Penguins’ limits within their own salary cap figures.

Having reached the 30-goal mark twice in his career, Rakell, who can play either wing, clearly has skill and his skating ability was evident to the naked eye in his brief run with the Penguins. Additionally, he displayed a willingness to go to high-traffic areas in search of offense. No one will confuse him with a blood-and-guts battler like former Penguins forward Rick Tocchet, but he has a pretty complete game that blends skill with some measure of grit.

Everyone seems interested in him potentially returning. But other larger pieces to the Penguins’ puzzle need to be settled first before Rakell’s future with the Penguins — if he has one — will be determined.

Follow the Penguins all season long.