The New York Rangers are enjoying a strong start to the 2026-27 season, holding a 7-3-1 record through their first 11 games, which has them firmly placed in second place in the Metropolitan Division. The retool has worked out well so far, even with goaltender Igor Shesterkin suffering a season-ending injury in their sixth game. They aren't just winning games, they are at times doing so in dominating fashion, which has made them an enjoyable watch so far.
The real question will be whether they can maintain this pace for the majority of the season. If they do so, they will be in the playoff hunt. With that, that means they would be in a position to buy a player at the trade deadline to help them not only make the playoffs, but also go on a run that results in a Stanley Cup title.
So, if the Rangers keep up their winning ways, who could they feasibly target? Well, one name that is on a new trade board has familiarity with head coach Mike Sullivan. That is Pittsburgh Penguins winger Rickard Rakell.
Rickard Rakell makes The Athletic's NHL trade deadline big board
The Athletic NHL insider Chris Johnston recently unveiled his trade deadline big board and the 10 players worth keeping an eye on throughout the season. One of the players is Rakell, who is being phased out in favor of younger players on the Penguins.
"...Rakell’s time may finally be winding down with a Penguins team slowly transitioning to a younger group," write Johnston. "While he’s delivered an outsized amount of production on a reasonable contract, it’s been a slow start to the year for both player and team. Still, Rakell is an above-average finisher who has a history of holding his own when playing alongside highly skilled linemates."
A reunion with Sullivan in New York? Well, that is all dependent on how the seasons of the Rangers and Penguins go. The Rangers are off to a great start, while the Penguins have fallen down to Earth a bit, as they are on a four-game losing streak entering Thursday, and sit in last second-to-last place in the Eastern Conference with a 3-6-1 record.
Rakell had some great seasons when he joined the Penguins since arriving during the 2021-22 season. It's hard to look past the 2024-25 season, as Rakell put up 70 points after recording 35 goals and 35 assists, all of which were the most he recorded in a single campaign. That was also Sullivan's final season as head coach, as he and the Penguins opted to part ways that summer, where he then quickly signed with the Rangers.
Now, could Sullivan try to bring in Rakell if the Rangers are still in the playoff hunt?
Does Rickard Rakell make sense as a trade target for Rangers?
Again, the determining factor for the Rangers will be to see if they have a winning record and have a decent path to clinch a playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division. But they also have to determine how "all-in" they should go for a trade.
The Athletic's Vince Mercogliano brought up that the Rangers don't have too many draft assets, since general manager Chris Drury used a lot of them to bring in the likes of Pavel Dorofeyev, Marcus Pettersson, and Joonas Korpisalo this offseason. Even so, Mercogliano believes that Drury would be willing to move more draft picks if the team keeps winning games in the lead-up to the trade deadline.
"The Rangers have time to determine how many of their limited chips they’re willing to spend, but if the team continues to play well, our sense is they’ll lean more in the aggressive direction," writes Mercogliano.
There's also Rakell's contract that they would have to take on. While the Rangers have ample cap space, especially with Shesterkin on the injured reserve, they will have to take on the remainder of his salary this year, and the $5 million next year. He will then hit free agency in 2028.
These will be things that the Rangers have to consider before making a trade at the deadline. Is there a path to the playoffs? And how many assets should they give up to improve their roster? That's still a couple of months away. But Rakell is a name worth keeping an eye on, considering one of the prominent NHL insiders has him as an early trade deadline candidate.
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