2 early Penguins trade candidates after 1st-round loss to Flyers

The season for the Pittsburgh Penguins came to a close in disappointing fashion, losing a 1-0 overtime final score last week to the in-state rival Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinal.

The Flyers had jumped out to a three-games-to-none series lead before the Penguins mounted a comeback effort to truly make life uncomfortable for the Flyers, winning two straight games and coming within a goal of forcing what would have been a decisive Game 7 back in Pittsburgh. But Cam York’s seeing-eye shot from the point managed to get by goaltender Arturs Silovs, who replaced Stuart Skinner starting in Game 4, to end their comeback hopes.

Of course, now most of the attention on the Penguins will be surrounding the future of longtime forward and three-time Stanley Cup winner Evgeni Malkin, who was playing in the final season of his contract, leading many to believe that he could potentially be preparing for retirement. There has also been speculation that he could potentially play elsewhere, which would truly represent the end of an era for the franchise.

Meanwhile, there remain several Penguins players who remain heavily involved in trade rumors as they were last offseason, though GM Kyle Dubas ultimately was able to hold on to them. 2025-26 was a season for Pittsburgh in which they defied expectations of even the most conservative of critics, making the playoffs despite widely being projected to finish at the bottom of the Eastern Conference.

But now that the season is over, and with Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang, and Malkin all being another year older, is it time to shed some veteran pieces and focus more on the future, which will be here before they know it? There have been other teams in the NHL in recent years who have elected to keep their aging veterans for one last kick at the can for too long, and ultimately paid for it by not getting a head start on a necessary rebuilding process. Pittsburgh will want to avoid a similar fate.

Will the Penguins move on from Bryan Rust? 

Rust was one of many Penguins players last offseason that was heavily mired in trade talks last summer. He’s a veteran forward with two Stanley Cup rings on his resume, earlier in his career with Pittsburgh in 2016 and 2017, and he’s been a key presence on the power-play for Pittsburgh over the last several years. However, as the old adage goes, Father Time comes for everyone eventually.

Rust is a week from being 34 years old, and his contract still carries two years left with a manageable salary cap hit of $5.125 million. Penguins GM Kyle Dubas would be well served by trading Rust and receiving a handful of younger players and draft capital in return, focusing on the future of the team.

This past season, Rust scored 29 goals with 36 assists in 72 games played, while adding a goal and an assist in their opening round series loss to the Flyers. In 710 career NHL games, Rust has scored 232 goals while adding 270 assists along with 231 penalty minutes.

Rickard Rakell remains a viable trade candidate 

Speaking of players who weren’t moved last summer despite being heavily involved in rumors, Rickard Rakell also fits that bill. But like Rust, the Penguins were unable to find a trade partner for him, and he remained with the club, scoring 24 goals with 24 assists while injuries limited him to just 60 games played.

But he showed he can still be a productive forward while also playing on special teams. Rakell still has two years left on his contract with a $5 million salary cap hit, and like Rust, could fetch the Penguins multiple young players/draft picks in return should Dubas ultimately decide the time is right to move on.

Both Rust and Rakell could fetch the Penguins, at the very least, a first-round draft selection along with a current roster player and/or NHL-ready prospect with potential from teams looking for the final pieces of their Stanley Cup puzzle.

Could the Penguins retain assets for UFA goalie Stuart Skinner? 

One player who isn’t expected to return to the Penguins for next season is goaltender Stuart Skinner, who was acquired in mid-December from the Edmonton Oilers in the highly-publicized trade involving Tristan Jarry.

While Skinner enjoyed strong stretches of play after the trade, he once again faltered when the games counted the most in the postseason. Skinner is a pending UFA, and the Penguins could act quickly and flip his contract, which expires on July 1, to retain assets in return rather than lose him for nothing this summer on the open free agent market.

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