Thomas Drance says the Penguins haven't found fair value for Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust, and the Vancouver Canucks may be next.
Pittsburgh has been selling veterans for years while trying to rebuild on the fly. The two forwards were supposed to be the easy pieces to move, and the market hasn't paid what the Penguins want.
The pricing problem has been building for a week. Elliotte Friedman said Tuesday that GM Kyle Dubas has a number in mind and will make a deal if a team reaches it. So far, nobody has.
Drance noted that this is a reality the Vancouver Canucks may be facing too.
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The post cuts off there, so we won't guess how he finishes the thought. The comparison is easy to see anyway. Vancouver is 3-16-1 with 7 points, has lost six straight, and plays the Rangers tonight.
Rakell is the one who should be easy to sell. He has 6 goals and 11 points in 19 games, with a short-handed goal among them. He's 33, carries a cap hit of about $5 million through 2027-28, and still can't get a deal done.
Keith Yandle said Thursday that Rakell turned down a trade to the Blackhawks. That complicates the picture, because a player with a say in where he goes narrows the market on his own.
Rust has his own obstacle. He has played just 7 games, and he's listed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, expected to be out until at least Dec 5. Contenders don't pay full price for a 34-year-old winger they can't put in the lineup.
Why the Vancouver Canucks should be paying attention
If Pittsburgh can't get fair value for productive veterans, Vancouver isn't going to do better. The Penguins sit at 7-10-2 and just beat the Sharks 3-2 in a shootout on Wednesday. The Vancouver Canucks have a -34 goal differential and a 1-9-0 record over their last 10.
Teams with nothing to play for have little leverage. Buyers know the seller needs the deal more than they do, and they price accordingly. Pittsburgh is learning that now, and Vancouver should expect the same treatment.
That's the opinion here: any Vancouver Canucks veteran who might move would be best served by a team that is patient and doesn't wait for a perfect offer. The Penguins have waited, and the offers haven't improved.
Pittsburgh hosts the Ottawa Senators on Saturday, and the Rakell and Rust situation doesn't go away. Vancouver's front office will have its own pricing questions to answer after tonight's game against the Rangers.
This article was written with the help of artificial intelligence, based on public reports and official sources.
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