We’re over a week into NHL Free Agency and most top targets are off the market following relentless shopping sprees owing to a rising salary cap. However, a couple remain.
Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell of the Pittsburgh Penguins are names that have attracted quite some trade chatter.
Rust and Rakell are veterans, but they have not exhibited signs of slowing down. Rust has tallied 437 points over 638 regular-season games, while Rakell has accumulated 519 points in 802 regular-season games.
While Penguins’ GM Kyle Dubas is in no specific hurry to trade either of the veteran wingers, the market is a bit more conducive to striking a deal for a younger NHL player in return. So, what lies ahead for the wingers?
Pittsburgh Penguins Veterans Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell Vulnerable to Trades
Neither Rust nor Rakell has the safety of a no-move clause. However, Rakell does have some sort of protection in the form of an eight-team no-trade list.
Rust, 33, is more exposed to the worries of being traded away. With his no-move clause expiring July 1, NHL teams hoping to make the playoffs are expected to keep an eye on Rust, thanks to his record as a consistent scorer and a reliable performer.
Trade Watch: #LetsGoPens listening to Bryan Rust trade offershttps://t.co/pGouAcHJBL
— NHL Trade Rumors (@NHLTradeRumors) July 7, 2025
According to The Athletic insider Josh Yohe, while Dubas is not going out of his way to strike a trade for either Rust or Rakell, given their veteran status, hockey talent, popularity in the team’s locker room, and the fact that Sidney Crosby loves being their teammate, he is aware that an adverse decision might be necessary to rebuild a team that last made the playoffs in 2022, which was the end of a 16-year streak.
The only players who could be touted as completely safe from trade uncertainties are Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Thanks to his health concerns, defenseman Kris Letang cannot be moved, no matter how hard the team tries.
However, regarding Rakell and Rust, Dubas is cognizant that trading them away could mean procuring significant assets for the team.
“If Dubas did trade Rust and Rakell, he could gain key pieces for his attempt at a very fast, machine-like rebuild,” Yohe wrote in his mailbag.
On a $30.75 million, six-year contract with the Penguins until 2028, Rust has stated that he does not want to part with the Penguins. Rust is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the team and wants to be around for the Penguins’ journey while it embarks on a rebuild. “I want to be here until we’re good again,” Rust told The Athletic.
However, the Penguins could be in dire need of some new energy. The team is faced with pressing issues like goaltending woes and blueline troubles. Trading could be one of the only viable options left. Dubas had been up for trades since the end of last season, and now, according to hockey insiders, one of the two is more likely than not to be gone this summer.
There was enough chatter about the Carolina Hurricanes being interested in Rust and Rakell before the Nikolaj Ehlers trade took place.
“Had Carolina failed to land the coveted free agent, they would’ve attempted to pry either Rust or Rakell out of Pittsburgh. Who knows what the negotiations would’ve looked like if Ehlers signed elsewhere, but the Penguins were prepared to talk business,” The Athletic reported.
Other teams that could be in contention for Rust are the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and Washington Capitals.
