Josh Yohe of The Athletic writes that the Pittsburgh Penguins never came close to dealing forward Rickard Rakell prior to the NHL Trade Deadline. The Penguins reportedly didn’t care to deal Rakell and were happy to hold onto him,

The Pittsburgh Penguins held on to Rickard Rakell at the trade deadline, but it wasn't for a lack of trying as one Western Conference team tried hard to land him.

Despite a strong seller’s market at the NHL trade deadline Friday, Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas did not trade the winger. The reasons to keep Rakell were abundantly clear Friday night in the Penguins’ 4-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights.

Kyle Dubas was busy today as were the general managers of just about every team in the league. Almost every team made at least one deal today, and Dubas made several, including one that sent Cody Glass to the New Jersey Devils.

Rickard Rakell's value may never be higher than it was before the trade deadline. If it's not, Dubas missed an opportunity. Time will tell.

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas is going to look good. Well, at least in terms of how he handles winger Rickard Rakell. It’s going to be hard to screw this one up. Again, by 3:01 p.m.,

Power play goal for Pittsburgh! Scored by Evgeni Malkin with 04:38 remaining in the 2nd period. Assisted by Kris Letang and Matt Grzelcyk. Minnesota: 0 Pittsburgh: 1 #PITvsMIN #mnwild #LetsGoPens pic.twitter.com/Fq1OqB3HUQ

Sidney Crosby scored twice, Evgeni Malkin also had a goal and Tristan Jarry made 30 saves and had an assist to help the Pittsburgh Penguins snap a four-game skid with a 3-1 victory over the Minnesota Wild.

The Penguins have nearly lost every game since the 4 Nations Face-Off. They were playing fairly well before that two-week break and theoretically were alive in the playoff race, sitting just 6 points out of a postseason spot. A couple of weeks later, the Penguins are plummeting.