A lot has been said about Rickard Rakell's future with the Penguins seeing as he was not traded at the deadline, and NHL insider Josh Yohe has discussed it more.

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.

The reasons to keep Rakell were abundantly clear Friday night in the Penguins’ 4-0 loss to the Vegas Golden Knights. If not for the Penguins’ top line with Rakell, Sidney Crosby, and Bryan Rust, the game would have been an ugly beatdown uncomfortable to watch for even the most bloodthirsty UFC fans.

LISTEN to what Pens general manager Kyle Dubas said of not trading one of the most sought after players & why he wants to keep Rickard Rakell

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.

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