Adding a Player Like Rakell Gives the Penguins Plenty of Juice

Going into the NHL's trade deadline, Rickard Rakell knew he would be leaving Anaheim, but had no idea where he was going or when it would happen.

He thought he would maybe get moved around the same time as his teammates Hampus Lindholm, who went to Boston on Saturday, and Nicolas Deslauriers, who went to Minnesota on Sunday. "So I was just sitting at home waiting and waiting, and got nothing," Rakell said.
It ended up coming down to the wire for Rakell, who was watching the coverage on Monday afternoon with his wife Emmeli when they finally learned his destination: Pittsburgh.
At that point, Rickard and Emmeli FaceTimed with Penguins defenseman and fellow Swede Marcus Pettersson - who had been his Ducks teammate from 2017-19 - and his girlfriend Beatrice.
"We didn't want to celebrate too early, because I hadn't got the call yet. But it seemed like it was already done," Rakell said. "So we just got super excited to join such a good team and such a good organization, and have a chance to win."

Rakell spoke with Penguins general manager Ron Hextall a short while later, who welcomed him to the organization, saying he was joining a great group of guys and that the 28-year-old forward was going to be a good fit.
"And then we just tried to get me on my way so I could come in for this game tonight," Rakell said.
Rakell packed his things and got on an 11:30 PM redeye flight out of Los Angeles on Monday night. He was able to get a few hours of sleep before a quick layover in New York, landing in Pittsburgh at 10:40 AM. From there, Rakell met with some of the Penguins staff before going to his hotel for lunch and a quick nap.
He then came to PPG Paints Arena early so that he could get his equipment ready and meet his new teammates ahead of their game against Columbus, where the Penguins skated to a 5-1 victory in Rakell's debut.
"It's been a lot going on in the last 24 hours, but it's been awesome," Rakell said. "Like just coming here, the warm welcome that I've got from the whole organization with players and staff, it's been great. I think it was probably for the best just to rip the band aid off and get to play right away. I had a lot of fun. Legs weren't the best, I felt. But it was great to just get right back into it and be around the guys, and then get the win in this game."
Both Hextall and head coach Mike Sullivan emphasized that Rakell can play the type of game the Penguins want to play - a fast, in-your-face brand of hockey. His style consists of a little bit of everything: speed and skill, along with some physicality to win pucks back and create some chances in front of the net.
Those offensive instincts were evident right away, as the two-time 30-goal scorer immediately set up Kasperi Kapanen with a beautiful pass on his first shift of the game.
"He's an awesome guy, and you could just see how good of a player he is out there," winger Jake Guentzel said. "He's going to help our team a lot. We're happy to have a guy like that on our team. It's just exciting times for us."
Adding a player of Rakell's caliber has certainly given the Penguins, who moved two points ahead of the Rangers into second place in the Metro Division - just two points back of first-place Carolina - a big boost.
"I think when management goes out and they make a move like they did at the trade deadline, it just shows our group their faith in us and our ability moving forward," Sullivan said. "So I think it gives our team juice. It gives me juice as the head coach, I'll tell you that. And I think the players feel the same way, that we believe we have a good team."

Rakell ended up with two shots in 14:08 of ice time, with Sullivan saying he produced an overall solid performance under the circumstances. The coaching staff had Rakell slot in on left wing on the third line alongside Jeff Carter and Kapanen for tonight, but Sullivan said he doesn't envision him playing there in the long term.
"We're trying to put players in positions to be successful, so I think if we had put him in the top-6 tonight, it would have been a real tough challenge and maybe an unfair challenge," Sullivan said before adding, "For any player, for that matter. So I would envision our coaching staff moving some people around here over the next few days, once Rakell gets more familiar with how we're trying to play, and we get more familiar with him."
Rakell is looking forward to learning from his new teammates, especially the likes of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. "To be in the same room as those guys… I'm just going to try and be a sponge and soak it all in," Rakell said.
The last time Rakell played postseason hockey was in 2018, when the Ducks - who are currently seven points out of the second Wild Card spot - were eliminated in the First Round. The year before that, they had advanced to the Western Conference Final. This year, Rakell hopes to make it to the Stanley Cup Final with his new team.
"I think when you're in a pretty deep playoff run, that's when you realize the reasons why you're playing," Rakell said. "So have another chance of doing that, it's huge for me. Just coming here and get the chance to play with all these great players, great team - I couldn't be more excited."