With franchise pillar Evgeni Malkin apparently prepared to move on as a pending unrestricted free agent, the Penguins appear to have re-signed the winger they brought in to play with him.
Rickard Rakell, whom the Penguins acquired in March at the NHL’s trade deadline, will re-sign with the Penguins, agreeing to a six-year contract that carries an annual salary cap hit of $5 million.
Claude Lemieux, Rakell’s agent, confirmed the contract to the Tribune-Review on Monday night. The Penguins formally announced the deal roughtly a half hour before midnight.
Splitting the 2021-22 season between the Penguins and his previous team, the Anaheim Ducks, Rakell, 29, appeared in 70 games and scored 41 points (20 goals, 21 assists). Specifically with the Penguins, Rakell played in 19 games and posted 13 points (four goals, nine assists).
Rakell (6-foot-1, 195 pounds) was expected to skate on a line with Malkin, specifically in the postseason. But a head injury Rakell suffered in Game 1 of a first-round series against the New York Rangers largely waylaid those hopes as he was sidelined for most of the series, which the Penguins lost in seven games.
Based on Cap Friendly’s figures, the Penguins have $10,308,158 of remaining salary cap space following Rakell’s contract with 10 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies in the fold.
Earlier in the day, it was widely reported that Malkin, one of the greatest players in the history of the franchise, has opted to test free agency when the NHL’s free agent signing period opens Wednesday.
