With the Pittsburgh Penguins’ 2023-24 season coming to an end without any postseason action, TribLive will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 52 individuals signed to an NHL contract – including those whose deals do not begin until next season — with the organization, from fourth-line center Noel Acciari to reserve winger Radim Zohorna.

This series is scheduled to be published every weekday leading into the second day of the NHL Draft on June 29.

(Note: All contract information courtesy of Cap Friendly.)

Rickard Rakell

Position: Right winger

Shoots: Right

Age: 31

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 195 pounds

2023-24 NHL statistics: 70 games, 37 points (15 goals, 22 assists), 16:30 of average ice time per contest

Contract: In the second year of a six-year contract with a salary cap hit of $5 million. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2028.

(Note: This contract contains a modified no-trade clause that allows him to submit a list of eight teams he would not accept a trade to.)

Acquired: Trade, March 21, 2022

This season: After playing in all 82 games and posting 28 goals during the 2022-23 campaign, there was every reason to have faith Rickard Rakell would continue to be one of the Penguins’ leading contributors going into 2023-24.

Ultimately, Rakell failed to satisfy those hopes for a variety of reasons and there is reasonable curiosity if he could be moved off the roster after an ineffective season.

Rakell opened 2023-24 with a prime assignment on the right wing of the second line alongside center Evgeni Malkin and Reilly Smith. While Malkin and Smith raced out to productive starts, Rakell struggled to get his name on the scoresheet. In the first 18 games of the season, he was limited to four assists.

Things didn’t improve when a right shoulder injury suffered in mid-November sidelined him for 12 games. Absent for approximately a month, Rakell returned Dec. 19 and was placed on the top line next to center Sidney Crosby (as incumbent right winger Bryan Rust was hobbled due to injury).

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That deployment sparked Rakell a bit as he managed to generate 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his first 10 games following his return.

Rakell was unable to sustain that level of production and went 15 consecutive games without a goal between Jan. 11 and Feb 22. By Jan. 26, he was demoted to the left wing of the third line.

An injury to first-line left winger Jake Guentzel led to Rakell filling that role on Feb. 15. That assignment lasted until March 10 when Rakell was once again dropped to the third line and then moved back to the second line after two games and remained in that station for the remainder of the season.

In his final 18 games of 2023-24, Rakell registered 10 points (six goals, four assists) while primarily skating next to Malkin.

Perhaps the signature moment of Rakell’s season — and to be sure, there were few candidates for that designation — came during a resolute 6-3 road win against the New Jersey Devils on April 2. Fighting through a team-wide illness, the Penguins came back from 3-1 deficit going into the third period and erupted for five goals with Rakell getting the winning score.

After the regular season, Rakell declined an invitation to play for Sweden in May’s International Ice Hockey Federation’s (IIHF) World Championship tournament in order to allow his right shoulder to heal.

The future: To his credit, Rakell repeatedly refused to blame his shoulder woes as the reason for his overall struggles in 2023-24. And considering he didn’t find the back of the net before he was injured, he wasn’t wrong.

But it’s clear he wasn’t at his best this season. And it wasn’t just evident in his limited production. The confidence, concise decision-making and even the occasional display of physicality he offered in 2022-23 just wasn’t nearly as abundant in 2023-24.

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His inconsistent play led to current management — under president of Kyle Dubas — to be less enamored with him, at least compared to former ex-general manager Ron Hextall.

It might be highly speculative to suggest Rakell could be shipped out, especially since he has some trade control given the parameters of his contract. But given Dubas’ stated pursuit of injecting youth into the roster, it’s not ridiculous to wonder if moving on from a 31-year-old Rakell could aid that endeavor.

This is still a really talented player. When healthy and confident, he’s a wonderful supplement to the Penguins’ core players.

But given his health and age, it’s fair to wonder who the real Rickard Rakell is going into 2024-25? The dependable top-six winger from 2022-24 or the injury- and mistake-prone source of frustration in 2023-24.

Follow the Penguins all season long.

Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.

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