What I'm hearing about Penguins' trade options for Rickard Rakell, Marcus Pettersson

There is a perception, based on the Penguins trajectory and their stunningly bad start to the season, that it will be open season for Kyle Dubas before the March NHL trade deadline.

Sell, sell, sell.

Right? Not entirely.

Oh, you can expect Dubas, the Penguins president of hockey operations and general manager, to make his share of trades before the deadline.

He already dealt Lars Eller , whom I suspect wont be the last member of the Penguins to go.

The idea that the Penguins are going to hold a fire sale, however, is a bit misguided.

Advertisement In the case of Rickard Rakell , it might be flat-out wrong.

Rakells name often arises in discussions about Penguins trade pieces, and for good reason: Hes having an outstanding season and will generate interest from other teams.

He makes $5 million annually for two more seasons after this one not enough money to scare teams away but enough that the Penguins could benefit by removing his salary cap hit.

Dubas is eager to add draft picks and prospects, and Rakell could land them.

Unlike so many of his teammates, Rakell can be traded without being asked to waive a full no-trade clause because he doesnt have one.

So, Rakell is as good as gone, right? Not so fast.

Lets put it this way: Dubas doesnt feel any extreme desire to deal Rakell.

I dont think he feels pressured at all.

If a team made an outrageous offer for Rakell, then sure, Dubas would be more than willing to listen.

Thats his job.

But the Penguins love how Rakell is playing and they appreciate that Rakell and Bryan Rust give them a couple of wingers worthy of playing with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin .

While Dubas priority is certainly geared toward making the Penguins future better, its still part of his job to keep the current team competitive.

Part of that is based on keeping Crosby and Malkin surrounded by players who can help them.

If youre Dubas, and the Penguins are two points out of a playoff spot on March 7 when theyre in Vegas, how do you pull up a barstool at the Bellagio, look Crosby and Malkin in the eye and tell them youre trading one of their two best wingers who could help them reach the postseason? The Penguins could trade Rakell, of course.

Teams do desperate things and make desperate offers when they can smell the Stanley Cup, so Dubas will be ready for all possibilities.

From what team sources tell me, however, a Rakell trade would be far more likely in the summer.

Remember, the salary cap is likely to rise substantially next season, which means teams will be far more willing to court players such as Rakell when summertime arrives.

This would give the Penguins a better chance at reaching the postseason this season and wouldnt diminish the return for Rakell much.

Advertisement Rakell has been nothing short of outstanding this season, and the coaching staff is absolutely delighted with everything hes brought to the table.

Its not just the goal scoring, its his overall play.

Hes performing at a very high level and capable of playing the right or left wing, which will make him all that more attractive to competing teams.

Still, he remains plenty attractive to the Penguins, too.

My sense is that Dubas doesnt want to tear this team down entirely, as weve seen in places like Chicago and Detroit.

Those teams, youll note, have never fully recovered and have realized that burning it down entirely only to build it back up is far more enticing in theory than it is in practice.

The Penguins are aware of what franchises such as the Kings , Rangers and Capitals have done or are doing in terms of rebuilding.

Thats the most likely path.

I wouldnt be surprised if Rakell is traded before his contract expires.

That still seems somewhat likely, though hardly a given.

But the demand for his services wont be such that Dubas will receive an offer he cant refuse.

From everything Ive heard, hes OK with that.

Marcus Pettersson s situation is different simply because hes in the final season of his contract.

Although Pettersson isnt having his customarily consistent defensive season, hes still been fine.

Hes still the kind of player teams covet and is almost certainly as good as gone.

The Penguins know they can receive a nice piece in return for Pettersson and they only have so many players without no-trade clauses.

Edmonton and Vancouver are interested in him.

Other teams will surface, too.

Given that hes playing on an expiring contract, Id be very surprised if he isnt traded.

Speaking of Vancouver, there is plenty of chatter out there about Pittsburgh-area native J.T.

Miller .

Advertisement Earlier this season, the Rangers offered struggling center Mika Zibanejad to Vancouver in return for Miller.

The Canucks turned down the offer.

Its no secret that the Rangers are very interested in Miller, who was drafted by New York in 2011 and played his first six NHL seasons there.

The Penguins love 20-year-old defenseman Owen Pickering .

One of the coaching staffs favorite things about Pickering is his ability to absorb criticism and learn from it.

Pickering has fit in with his new teammates extraordinarily well for someone his age.

After practice on Saturday in Raleigh, N.C., he was holding court in the locker room.

He very much belongs.

To the chagrin of many, Jesse Puljujarvi remains out of the lineup.

Why? He makes mental mistakes that drive the coaching staff bonkers.

He was placed on waivers last week with many in the organization expecting hed be claimed by another team.

That wasnt the case.

We talk often about goaltender prospect Joel Blomqvist and how much affection the Penguins have for him.

But allow me to assure you that the franchise likes Sergei Murashov, another of their goaltending prospects, very much.

Hes too good for the ECHL level, where hes currently boasting a 14-2 record with the Wheeling Nailers, sporting a .922 save percentage and a 2.38 GAA.

In two starts with Wilkes-Barre, he went 2-0 with a 2.50 GAA and a .919 saver percentage.

Im not so sure he isnt their future between the pipes.

(Photo of Rickard Rakell: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images).

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