Even back in March, when he first arrived in Pittsburgh via a trade, Rickard Rakell recognized he would have to wait in line this offseason as the Penguins worked to finalize new contracts for Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Bryan Rust.
“I was just trying to sit back and wait for my turn, basically,” the winger said.
It came Monday, and he said it didn’t take much time or aggravation to agree to a six-year deal that will pay him an annual average salary of $5 million.
“It went pretty quick for us,” Rakell said Wednesday on a conference call.
The Penguins wanted to keep Rakell, 29, around after he played well following the deadline deal that brought him here from Anaheim. He had four goals and 13 points in 19 regular-season games before a concussion ruined his postseason.
The feeling was mutual for Rakell, who is “thankful” to stay in Pittsburgh.
“A big thing for me was having the chance to win. I had a really good feeling about the Penguins the second that I got there last season. For me, it’s a package thing,” he said. “I want to be in a great organization with great teammates.”
The signing wrapped up what was an eventful few weeks for Rakell. Last month, he and his wife, Emmeli, welcomed their first child, a girl, into the world.
“It’s been great,” Rakell said with a grin. “It’s been kind of good, actually, just getting our mind off everything else with the contract situation and all that.”
Rakell was happy to see the Penguins were able to re-sign Malkin late Tuesday night after Rakell’s deal got done a day earlier. The two of them could be linemates when next season begins. He is looking forward to building chemistry with Malkin during training camp and feels they can be a “really good” combination.
After watching how the postseason played out, with the New York Rangers going to the Eastern Conference finals after knocking out the Penguins in Round 1, Rakell believes both he and the Penguins will rebound this upcoming season.
“I did watch a little bit. It was tough to watch because I felt like that should probably have been us,” he said. “For myself, I had a pretty disappointing ending to the season with the injuries and all that, and I didn’t feel like I could help the team the way I wanted. At the same time, it gives you motivation for next season.”
Here come the kids?
The Penguins on Wednesday signed Josh Archibald and Drake Caggiula to bolster their forward depth. General manager Ron Hextall expects a few prospects to push for playing time, too.
“I always like the young guys to come in and show us themselves, rather than me naming names, but there’s some obvious guys,” Hextall said.
Two names Hextall did drop were Filip Hallander and Valtteri Puustinen.
“In the end, they’ve got to come into camp and try to beat somebody out or show us enough where we say, ‘You’re going to be the first call-up,’ ” he said.
Confident about Kapanen
The Penguins have one more restricted free agent to get under contract. They gave winger Kasperi Kapanen a qualifying offer on Monday. He has arbitration rights, but it sounds like there is a pretty good chance it doesn’t reach that point.
“I’m sure we’ll get something done. Whether they’ll file, I don’t know where it’s headed right now. Typically, both sides have a range where you know you’re going to be,” Hextall said, adding, “I don’t think Kappy’s going to be a problem.”
Who gets paid next?
All-Star goalie Tristan Jarry and defenseman Brian Dumoulin headline the group of Penguins players who are entering the final year of their deals. Hextall said, to this point, contract talks with those players are on the back burner.
“The last month has just been crazy with negotiations and preparing for the draft and preparing for free agency,” the general manager said, “so we’ll get to that in the next few weeks here. I’ve never been one to be in a hurry with that stuff.”
Hextall noted it’s his preference to not negotiate during the season.
Matt Vensel: mvensel@post-gazette.com and Twitter @mattvensel.
First Published: July 13, 2022, 8:11 p.m.
