The Detroit Red Wings can use another top-six forward, and Rickard Rakell of the Pittsburgh Penguins would completely change this team's dynamic. Rakell is an older player heading into his age-32 season, but he put up 35 goals on a Penguins team that was so-so last year in the offensive zone, and he finished second to Sidney Crosby with 70 points.
Rakell could also slide right up on the first line alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond, while Alex DeBrincat, Marco Kasper, and Patrick Kane take up the second line. This lineup would give the Wings a dynamic and underrated top six, and one that would catapult them back into the top 10 in scoring.
And after the Wings couldn't land Nikolaj Ehlers in free agency, Rakell would be a more-than-capable consolation prize, even if he'd come via a trade. Plus, Detroit probably looks like a more exciting place to play these days, and I already cited how the Wings forwards would look outstanding with someone like Rakell in the lineup.
Red Wings biggest strength would also get stronger with Rakell in town
If the Red Wings were strong anywhere last season, it was on their power play, which converted 27,00 percent of the time. The Wings already have players like Patrick Kane, Alex DeBrincat, Dylan Larkin, and Lucas Raymond who can score often on the man advantage, but so can Rakell.
Last season, he found the net nine times when the Pens were on the power play, second only to Sidney Crosby and tied with Michael Bunting. Rakell would take the Wings power play and make it even stronger and more formidable than it was last season, and it wouldn't surprise me one bit if it hit the 30-percent mark.
Because, at that point, who do you defend if you're an opponent? If you think the Wings power play gave other teams' penalty-kill units nightmares last season, you wouldn't have seen anything yet should they land Rakell.
Rakell would also improve a glaring weakness in the Wings lineup
For a while, I've been stressing that the Red Wings need more physical players. Last season, Rakell took third on the Pens with 116 hits, and he would bring that edge to Hockeytown. They got a little edgier this month when they brought Mason Appleton over, but more is needed.
And if the Wings wanted to stick around with some of the best teams in the East, getting more physical is non-negotiable. It needs to happen, and it'd be a bonus if a big-time scorer and solid points-producer came over and gave them that extra edge.
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