For the Penguins, Rickard Rakell 'adds the dimension that we wanted to add'

Pittsburgh Penguins management maintained a pretty good poker face leading up until the trade deadline Monday.

Whether it be general manager Ron Hextall or president of hockey operations Brian Burke, the franchise’s public stance over the past handful of weeks and months was one of comfort with the status quo.

They were satisfied with their depth. They liked the chemistry of the current roster. And dealing away prospects or draft picks wasn’t an appetizing notion.

Also, perhaps most importantly, their salary cap space was limited and likely would hinder any kind of major transaction.

All of that made sense and would justify a quiet afternoon for the Penguins.

But then, the deadline arrived. And with it, Rickard Rakell.

The Penguins swung a major deal acquiring the second-line right winger, a two-time 30-goal scorer, from the Anaheim Ducks.

In exchange, the Penguins sent depth (bottom-six forwards Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Simon) a prospect (goaltender Calle Clang) and a draft pick (a second-rounder in 2022) to the Ducks.

Basically, they made a trade that they largely suggested they would not swing.

“Quite frankly, I didn’t feel like we had to make a deal and neither did anybody on our staff,” Hextall said. “But if we could improve our team, we certainly owe it to our players and the organization. Everything has got to fit together and quite frankly, with our cap situation, it’s not easy to fit things together. If we could have kept the two players that we moved, we would have loved to. But in a cap world, things have to change.

“We felt like our secondary scoring has been a little bit of an issue. It’s come to life a little bit lately. We think Rickard adds a lot to our group in terms of the skill part of the group. And really makes us — certainly in our top nine and our top 12 (forwards) — a lot deeper.”

Rakell, 28, is in the final year of a six-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $3,789,444. Per terms of the deal, the Ducks will retain $1,326,305 (35%) of Rakell’s average annual value.

He is a pending unrestricted free agent this offseason. On Monday, Hextall largely avoided a question as to whether the team would attempt to re-sign him.

Appearing in 51 games this season, the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Rakell has 28 points (16 goals, 12 assists) while averaging 18 minutes, 21 seconds of ice time, including 2:32 in power-play situations. He led the Ducks in shots (136) before being traded.

A first-round pick (No. 30 overall) in 2011, the right-hander from Sweden has spent his entire 10-year career with the Ducks until this point. Hextall suggested Rakell will be available for Tuesday’s home game against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

“We like his skill set,” Hextall said. “He plays with speed, he can play a fast game. So, we feel like he’s going to fit in real good with our group here. It’s hard to score in this league, so when you can add a player of Rickard’s resume, put him with our players, we feel like we’re a better team than we were earlier this morning.”

Aston-Reese (one-year contract at $1.725 million) and Simon (one-year contract at $750,000) are pending unrestricted free agents, as well.

A member of the Penguins for the past five seasons, Aston-Reese was part of a strong fourth line typically centered by Teddy Blueger, as well as one of the team’s leading penalty-killers. In 52 games this season, Aston-Reese had 11 points (two goals, nine assists) while averaging 12:55 of ice time per contest.

As for Simon, he returned to the Penguins this past offseason after a season with the Calgary Flames and primarily skated in a bottom-six role, often as an injury replacement. In 55 games this season, he had nine points (three goals, six assists) and an average of 9:39 of ice time per contest.

Clang, 19, was a third-round pick (No. 77 overall) in 2020 and has yet to sign an NHL contract. A native of Sweden, Clang is playing for Rogle of the Swedish Hockey League. In 17 games this season, Clang has a 10-5-0 record, a 2.28 goals-against average, a .915 save percentage and one shutout.

Unofficially, Clang was one of the Penguins’ 10 or 15 best prospects, admittedly from a shallow pool. But the additions of undrafted goaltending prospects Filip Forsberg and Taylor Gauthier over the past eight months as well as the presence of goaltender Joel Blomqvist, a second-round pick (No. 52 overall) in 2019, made Clang expendable.

“Calle’s a good young goalie,” Hextall said. “Anaheim got a good young goalie there. It’s one of the deeper parts of the organization, so we felt like we could afford to give it up. But we certainly didn’t want to.”

Earlier in the day, the Penguins acquired depth defenseman Nathan Beaulieu from the Winnipeg Jets in exchange for a seventh-round pick in this year’s draft. The Jets will only receive that pick if the Penguins reach the Stanley Cup Final and Beaulieu plays in 50% of the team’s postseason games.

It’s fair to say either of those conditions are far from being guaranteed.

As it is, Beaulieu is currently on long-term injured reserve with an undisclosed injury and is expected to remain in that designation until the postseason begins when such a maneuver will not impact the team’s salary cap figure.

A left-handed shot, the physical Beaulieu (6-foot-2, 200 pounds) has appeared in 24 games this season and recorded four assists while averaging 10:46 of ice time per contest. His injury has sidelined him since March 6.

“He’s going to be a while,” Hextall said. “It’s more of a depth acquisition for us. He plays a real hard game. Physical, boxing out and things. We felt he was a good fit with our group. The physical, rugged nature that he plays with is certainly what attracted us to him.”

Rakell and Beaulieu will be joining a team that already had legitimate hopes as a Stanley Cup contender.

Their arrivals — at least Rakell’s — amplify those ambitions.

We feel like our chances are better now than they were yesterday,” Hextall said. “Everything has got to fit together. You’ve got the cap. You’ve got the assets that you’re giving up. You’ve got the fit on your team.

“We just weren’t going to add a player. The player had to fit into our group. We feel like this player does and adds the dimension that we wanted to add.”