Elliotte Friedman: Penguins would move a veteran forward to open room for young players

Rickard Rakell has no goals through nine games, and the Pittsburgh Penguins just made it clear a veteran forward can be had.

Elliotte Friedman reported on Saturday Headlines that the Penguins would move a veteran forward for draft picks or prospects. The point is to open up opportunity for their younger players.

Friedman didn't attach a name to it. That hands Kyle Dubas a menu instead of a single deal, and leaves a whole locker room reading the same report in the middle of a road trip.

The timing isn't subtle. The Penguins lost 6-2 in Vegas on Saturday night, their third straight defeat after falling 5-2 in Colorado the night before.

They sit sixth in the Metropolitan Division heading into tonight's game in Utah. On the road this season, they're 1-4-1.

So who actually goes? Rakell carries a $5 million cap hit and has two assists to show for it.

The Swede hasn't recorded a point in his last five games. For a forward paid like a scorer, that's a long, loud silence.

Benjamin Kindel is the reason this sale has to happen

The kids the Penguins want to push aren't hypothetical. Benjamin Kindel has four points through eight games, and he's 19 years old.

But the teenager has been held off the scoresheet over his last five, going minus-4. Handing him more minutes is a development bet, plain and simple.

Ville Koivunen sits at +2, a minor miracle on a team that's been outscored 33-29.

Nicholas Robertson leads the club at +6, and one of his four goals came shorthanded. He's 25, and he's playing like someone who wants the next promotion.

Then there are the veterans nobody should be shopping. Evgeni Malkin, at 40, leads the team with five goals.

Sidney Crosby has three goals over his last five games. Put that phone call out of your head.

Bryan Rust is the more realistic second name. He's 34, with three goals in six games and a $5,125,000 cap hit that a contender would have to squeeze in.

Andrei Kuzmenko might be the toughest sell of all. He hasn't recorded a point in five games and went minus-3 in that span.

Here's where Dubas has to be honest with himself. Selling a slumping Rakell in October is like listing a house with a leaky roof.

You take the lower offer now, or you wait for the deadline and watch the water come in. Waiting would be a mistake.

Injuries muddy the math. Egor Chinakhov is day-to-day with a lower-body injury, and Trevor Van Riemsdyk is on injured reserve.

Dan Muse also has a crease problem that no forward trade fixes. Arturs Silovs owns an .875 save percentage, and Sergei Murashov is still chasing his first win.

-

Utah comes in at 6-3-0, and tonight is the first of two meetings before October ends. Another flat night, and the question shifts from whether Dubas sells to how many veterans he's willing to part with.

Also read on Markerzone.com:
Leon Draisaitl shoves Mattias Ekholm in tense scene