The Edmonton Oilers have already done a lot to shape their offseason, but one hole still stands out: the search for a top-six winger. That need has been on the team’s radar for a while, and among the options still floating around in free agency and on the trade market, Pittsburgh’s Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust look like the cleanest fits.
Rakell has already been linked to Edmonton by insider David Pagnotta. Rust has not been tied to the Oilers in the same way, but Tyler Yaremchuk of Oilers Nation made the case that either Penguins winger would be worth serious attention from GM Stan Bowman.
“There are names out there on the trade market that I think this team should seriously be looking at. I look at the two guys in Pittsburgh, Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust… but if those guys are truly on the market, I think Stan Bowman should be calling.
Neither of them are egregious cap hits, both of them come with a little bit of term, and both of them have the potential to score 30 goals. So I’d be really intrigued with one of those two guys out of Pittsburgh if Stan could find a way to make that work,”
Both players are tied up for two more seasons. Rakell, 33, has two years left on the six-year, $30 million extension he signed with the Penguins in 2022. Rust, 34, is in the same boat with two years remaining on the six-year, $30.75 million deal he agreed to in 2022.
The appeal is obvious. Rakell and Rust have both been steady 50-60-plus-point wingers, and both have shown they can thrive alongside elite talent during their time in Pittsburgh. For an Oilers team trying to finish its top six, either one would bring a proven scoring touch and a track record that fits what Edmonton is looking for.
Drop one next to Connor McDavid or Leon Draisaitl, and the forward group starts to look a lot more complete. And because both wingers are in their mid-thirties, the price to get them shouldn’t be overwhelming.
There will be some hesitation about trading for players at that age, but Edmonton’s direction is clear: it’s going for it now. With that in mind, Rakell and Rust stand out as two of the best top-six winger targets the Oilers are likely to find over the next two years.
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There is also a familiar Pittsburgh wrinkle to the conversation: the potential fit with Andrei Kuzmenko, who could make any offensive target easier to picture in black and gold. At the same time, the Penguins are keeping one eye on their own pipeline, with Owen Pickering coming off a strong playoff run in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Ville Koivunen facing an important summer as he tries to prove he belongs in the NHL. The front office has several moving parts in play, and the next step could say plenty about how aggressive it intends to be. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Trade Board Just Shifted As Dubas Faces A Murky Market
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Why Penguins Fans Should Be Excited About Hendrix Lapierre
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For a team looking to keep adding speed and skill without overcommitting, Lapierre is a worthwhile bet because he is expected to compete for a regular role right away. His earlier production showed he can contribute when given the chance, and Pittsburghs forward mix offers him a path to carve out meaningful minutes. If he settles in quickly, he could end up being more than just a reclamation project, which is exactly why his arrival is worth watching. [Read more 🡒]