{"id":43750,"date":"2025-08-04T04:08:08","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T04:08:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/43750\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T04:08:08","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T04:08:08","slug":"rickard-rakell-rumors-could-a-blockbuster-trade-send-the-penguins-star-to-the-maple-leafs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/43750\/","title":{"rendered":"Rickard Rakell Rumors: Could a Blockbuster Trade Send the Penguins Star to the Maple Leafs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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The NHL rumor mill is buzzing, and one name that keeps popping up in connection with the Toronto Maple Leafs is Pittsburgh Penguins<\/a> forward Rickard Rakell<\/a>. As an expert who\u2019s been following these rumors since the season ended, I can tell you there\u2019s more smoke here than from a Zamboni\u2019s exhaust.<\/p>\n

Rickard Rakell to the Maple Leafs?<\/p>\n

Sources close to the situation, like Sonny Sachdeva of Sportsnet, have confirmed that Rakell is very much on the trading block. Now, don\u2019t expect Penguins GM Kyle Dubas to make a knee-jerk reaction. He\u2019s playing the long game, looking for a deal that will genuinely improve his club\u2019s future. With the Penguins in a clear rebuilding phase, the asking price is likely centered around high-value draft picks and top-tier prospects. This is where the Maple Leafs, a team in a \u201cwin-now\u201d window, could find a willing trade partner.<\/p>\n

Rakell\u2019s contract is a significant piece of this puzzle. He carries a $5 million AAV through the 2027-28 season and has an eight-team no-trade list. My sources tell me the Leafs are not on that list, which opens a clear path for a potential deal. If Toronto\u2019s GM Brad Treliving can put together an enticing package, we could very well see Rakell in a blue and white sweater to kick off the 2025-26 season.<\/p>\n

The Salary Cap Gymnastics<\/p>\n

Of course, no trade in today\u2019s NHL is simple. The Maple Leafs currently have about $1.9 million in cap space<\/a>. They could create more room by moving a player like David Kampf<\/a>, who has a $2.4 million cap hit. However, even with that move, they\u2019ll either need to shed more salary or, more likely, convince the Penguins to retain a portion of Rakell\u2019s salary. <\/p>\n

This is where things get really interesting. If Dubas agrees to eat some of Rakell\u2019s contract, you can bet he\u2019ll be asking for a king\u2019s ransom in return. The name I keep hearing in that scenario? Top prospect Easton Cowan<\/a>. A move like that would be a blockbuster, sending shockwaves through the league and signaling a clear direction for both franchises.<\/p>\n

Your Source for Everything Maple Leafs<\/p>\n

For the latest Toronto Maple Leafs news<\/a>, to join an online hockey pool for cash prizes<\/a>, and to find out how to watch the Leafs game on TV today<\/a>, make sure to add nhltraderumor.com<\/a> to your bookmarks. Don\u2019t forget to sign up for our newsletter below to get all the latest rumors delivered straight to your inbox!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The NHL rumor mill is buzzing, and one name that keeps popping up in connection with the Toronto…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":43751,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[49,48,30892,23385,30893,448,753,30163,82],"class_list":["post-43750","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nhl","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-david-kampf","tag-easton-cowan","tag-leafs-trade-rumors","tag-nhl","tag-pittsburgh-penguins","tag-rickard-rakell","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43750","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43750"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43750\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43751"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43750"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43750"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43750"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}