NHL Network Ranking Exposes Penguins’ Top-Six Ceiling

The concern is availability and consistency. Rakell turns 33 during the season and has missed 44 games across the past three campaigns. He remains productive when healthy, but Pittsburgh cannot automatically project a complete season or expect his best scoring pace to remain unchanged.

That makes him difficult to place among the league’s elite. A top-20 winger usually combines production with enough durability or individual dominance to remove most of the uncertainty. Rakell remains a strong top-six player whose final totals can depend heavily on health, deployment and the performance of his linemates. The Penguins can win with Rakell in their top six. Asking him to serve as their most dangerous winger is a different standard.

Pittsburgh’s Top Six Still Depends on Its Centers

The ranking reinforces how much the Penguins’ offense continues to run through Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Crosby led the team with 74 points in 68 games last season, while Malkin produced 61 points in 56 appearances. Both remained above a point-per-game pace despite their age, injuries and changing roles. Pittsburgh’s top six stayed productive because its veteran centers continued creating enough offense to elevate the players around them.

That arrangement has defined much of the franchise’s championship era. Crosby and Malkin rarely needed the league’s most famous wingers because they could turn intelligent, competitive finishers into highly productive linemates.

The problem is how long they can continue relying on that formula. Crosby is entering his age-39 season, while Malkin will play at 40. The Penguins need their wingers to reduce the burden on the veteran centers rather than depend on them to preserve everyone else’s production.

The Penguins roster projection places Rust and Rakell beside Crosby again. That line remains reliable, but it also looks almost identical to combinations they have used throughout its recent decline and recovery. Continuity can be valuable. It does not automatically raise the ceiling.

Younger Wingers Provide Possibilities, Not Certainty

President of hockey operations and general manager Kyle Dubas added several forwards who could make the top six deeper. Egor Chinakhov produced 18 goals and 36 points in 43 games after joining the team, earning a three-year extension. Chinakhov’s goals and points each ranked third on the Penguins from the date of his acquisition.

Chinakhov may have the best chance to become the prime-age scoring winger the team lacks. His shot gives him a separating NHL skill, but he has not sustained last season’s Penguins production across a complete schedule.

Andrei Kuzmenko has a 39-goal season on his résumé, although he scored only 13 in 52 games last season and is returning from knee surgery. Nick Robertson reached career highs with 16 goals and 32 points before he was acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs this summer. The 24-year-old received a two-year contract to prove that a larger opportunity can produce another step.

Ben Kindel, Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen create additional upside, but none should enter the season carrying the expectation of becoming an elite NHL winger immediately. The Penguins have more possible top-six solutions than they did several years ago, but they still lack one player who provides enough certainty to change how opponents prepare for the matchup.

Elite Winger Remains Pittsburgh’s Missing Piece

The NHL Network’s list does not determine whether the Penguins can return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Rust and Rakell are good enough to support a competitive top six, especially if Crosby and Malkin remain productive and one of the younger forwards breaks out. The ranking matters more when the team is compared with legitimate contenders.

The Tampa Bay Lightning has Kucherov, Pastrnak drives the Boston Bruins, Kaprizov leads the Minnesota Wild, and the Dallas Stars have Rantanen and Jason Robertson. Those players can generate offense when structure breaks down, create favorable matchups for their linemates and carry a scoring line through difficult playoff stretches.

Trading for and signing Robertson showed that Dubas recognizes the need. The previous Jason Robertson miss explained why the Penguins could not force the next available move after the Stars retained him on a one-year contract. Patience was reasonable. The need remains.

Rust and Rakell should continue producing if healthy. Chinakhov could take another step, and Pittsburgh’s offseason additions may create a deeper lineup than the NHL Network’s winger ranking suggests. Depth can help the Penguins remain competitive. An elite winger would give them a path toward becoming something more.

The ranking did not expose Rust or Rakell as inadequate players. It exposed how much Pittsburgh still needs someone above them.