Having been in the Stanley Cup playoffs every season since 2007, trade deadline hoopla has become a predictable part of the Pittsburgh Penguins calendar.

The fans and media identify a big-name trade target to improve the club for a playoff run. Usually, that happens around the holidays. Those rumors bubble until about mid-February. Then intensity builds until the Penguins often get their guy in March.

With mixed results. Marian Hossa. Bill Guerin. Jarome Iginla. Derick Brassard. Jason Zucker. Just to name a few.

Of course, there also are occasional early acquisitions such as Chris Kunitz, Trevor Daley, Justin Schultz and James Neal.

But this year anticipation seemed tamped down by reality. The Penguins were pressed up against the salary cap. The NHL roster isn’t caked with enough talent that it could sustain multiple subtractions in player-for-player swaps. And the prospect pipeline and draft pick pool have been culled in recent years.

Given those circumstances, Ron Hextall’s acquisitions of Anaheim Ducks winger Rickard Rakell and Winnipeg Jets defenseman Nathan Beaulieu, like Jeff Carter last year, are probably about as much as the Penguins general manager could’ve done.

Wild applause? Celebration in the streets? A sense that the Penguins have now positioned themselves for a lengthy postseason run through the Eastern Conference? No. But a sense of “mission accomplished”?

Yes. Bearing in mind, the mission wasn’t tasked to be as weighty and as demanding as it had been at times under Ray Shero and Jim Rutherford. In many of those years, the organization frequently felt as if it was on the cusp of another Stanley Cup if one specific player could fill one specific void to put them over the top. In 2022, no such player appeared attainable. But no such blemish seemed more glaring than others the team may have to its overall complexion.

However, Hextall identified some shortcomings — questionable grit on defense and the absence of a middle-six winger capable of scoring and hopefully talented enough to play on Evgeni Malkin’s line.

Acquired from the Jets for a conditional seventh-rounder, Beaulieu (currently on long-term injured reserve with an undisclosed injury) brings toughness on the blue line with his 6-foot-2, 200-pound frame.

“He plays a real hard game,” Hextall said Monday. “Physical. Boxing out. We felt he’d be a good fit with our group. The physical, rugged nature that he plays with is what attracted us to him.”

Without a ton of affordable, second-line-worthy wingers available on the trade market, Rakell’s name was peripherally tied to the Penguins — for what felt like the third year in a row. Now he is finally wearing black and gold.

Of course, getting the 28-year-old Swede might have seemed flashier a few years ago. He posted back-to-back seasons of 33 and 34 goals in 2017 and 2018. Since then, he has only totaled 58 in nearly four seasons. Perhaps the 16 he has scored this year is an indication that he could find that previous form once he starts skating — presumably — on a line with Malkin.

“Typically, when you go into a deadline, you feel like you really have to make a deal. Or you don’t necessarily have to make a deal,” Hextall said. “Quite frankly, I didn’t feel like we had to make a deal, and neither did anyone on our staff. But, if we can improve the team, we owe it to our players and the organization.”

Don’t let Hextall’s soft-sell tone fool you. This wasn’t a luxury move. Getting a forward capable of scoring on Malkin’s line was an absolute necessity. Even if the cost of Zach Aston-Reese, Dominik Simon, a second-round draft choice and goalie prospect Calle Clang seems like a steep price.

This is a deal the Penguins absolutely needed to make. If Rakell works out, his presence as a (potential) scoring winger for Malkin allows the top line of Jake Guentzel, Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust to stay together. It also may allow Jeff Carter to permanently slot back in as a center on a third or fourth line if Zucker returns from injury in good form to be Malkin’s second winger.

Most importantly, Rakell should aid Malkin so that No. 71 doesn’t feel the onus of needing to do all of the heavy lifting for his line in 5-on-5 situations.

These trade deadline columns are usually easier to write. The hyperbole naturally oozes out of them.

• “Penguins win deadline day!”

• “Pens G.M. whiffs at deadline!”

• “Pens get their man!”

• “Big fish gets away from Penguins!”

Not so much in 2022. That’s the way this season has gone for the Penguins, though, hasn’t it? Much more good than bad. Rarely too high or too low. Expectations are evident but also tethered by realistic challenges presented by roster construction, cap concerns and a talented, balanced Eastern Conference.

Sure, more could’ve been done. A healthier, right-handed version of Beaulieu would’ve been nice. Or acquiring Beaulieu’s depth on the left side could’ve led to a bigger player-for-player deal involving Marcus Pettersson or Pierre Olivier-Joseph.

For now, though, the Penguins got better in at least one key area of need, even if the headlines don’t have the usual crackle.

And even if the guy who made it happen isn’t willing to admit it.

In this week’s hockey podcast, Brian Metzer and Tim Benz discuss the Penguins trade deadline activity, deals across the league, and the organization’s place in the NHL landscape.

Listen: Tim Benz and Brian Metzer talk Penguins trades and other NHL deadline deals

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