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This Rickard Rakell pickup truck is very Penguins-y


Rickard Rakell

Rickard Rakell
Photo: beautiful pictures

The NHL deal deadline passed about an hour ago, and it’s not the most boring deadline in game history but it’s not the most exciting either. The Bruins got better when Hampus Lindholm came to town a few days ago, except for Hampus! Hampus! may not be as good anymore. Avalanche, already the best team in the league, made a few moves under control that were actually quite savvy in picking Artturi Lehkonen and Josh Manson, especially the latter. And the Leafs have become dense, but perhaps we’ll come back to that.

Penguins, surprisingly in the Metro Division race, did not bench and acquired Rickard Rakell from the Anaheim Ducks selling clearance. And this thing that Penguins do and then watch it bloom into something really meaningful.

Rakell was the regular scorer of 25 to 30 back when the Ducks won in the Pacific and then spat it with various bodies in Game 7 at home. He then began shooting percent-hell as Duck’s fortunes went from rivaling to being the same as the rest of Anaheim, California. When Rakell was having three big seasons (87 goals in total) from 2015 to 2018, his shooting rate was also above 10%. The next three seasons saw his shooting rate drop below that mark, and his total goal tally increased as well (42 goals).

However, Rakell’s basic numbers suggest he has a similar chance. His personal expectation of goals per 60 minutes (according to NaturalStatTrick) has remained around 0.80 throughout his career. His shots and scoring opportunities have diminished a bit as he goes along.

This season, however, it was only his last contract before his unrestricted freedom and he spent most of the season playing with the NHL’s new side in Trevor Zegras. Suddenly, his shot percentage goes back to 11.8. It’s funny how that works, and he has 16 goals in 51 games, a 25-goal rate all season.

And in Pittsburgh, he will most likely run alongside Evgeni Malkin, and the Penguins are hungry for someone to score their top pass. Rakell has probably knocked Danton Heinen down to the third line, and playing with Malkin will give Rakell a chance to get on top of the pace he prefers rather than frantic cycling and finding space. This whole thing smashed the Phil Kessel deal a few years ago, even though Kessel famously couldn’t play with Malkin. However, here’s another side-scorer that would probably go for a Penguins system like Yinz or Iron City (no worse than Yuengling and you’ve all been poisoned to think that either is much more than late at night) .

And Pens can be anything when it comes to the knockout stages. They can win the subway, maybe even slide down the wildcard, and the way out of the East is hell. It is likely that they are intently trying to get past Igor Sheterkin in the first lap, and then trying to run against Canes in the second lap. Or maybe it has to get past the Bruins, the best defensive team in the league, and that’s before a team has to deal with anyone surviving Saturday night into Muskogee payday weekend, which is the Atlantic Division. (cowboy hat to Jim Ross for that).

The Penguins still have big questions about whether they can trust Tristan Jarry for the playoffs, or if Jeff Carter can hold out for another spring. There were rumors a few weeks ago that they might try to bring Marc-Andre Fleury home, but that never materialized. This was the best they could do, and it was like the Penguin’s move made them drag the tournament. Although this time it’s Ron Hextall, so all bets are off.

The Leafs, on the other hand, did nothing, as they looked for their first win in the playoff series because Deadwood was a bustling mining town. They also seemed to have had some real discussions about Fleury, but were scared off by the cost. And the Toronto media and fans alike will no doubt appreciate GM Kyle Dubas in defending first-round picks in the future as a roster built to win right now is eating points. high speed once again thanks to their goalkeeper becoming the spearhead in the first round. The big picture is always important at TO Dubas just waiting to take its action when the time is right. You beg do not know.



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