Ron Hextall said following Monday's trade deadline that newly-acquired forward Rickard Rakell would "hopefully" be in Pittsburgh on Tuesday and able to play in the Penguins' game against the Blue Jackets.
Rakell's flight touched down in Pittsburgh this morning, and per Mike Sullivan, Rakell will make his Penguins debut Tuesday night.
PENGUINS / TWITTER
Rickard Rakell arrives at Pittsburgh International Airport in Pittsburgh Tuesday morning.
The Penguins had an optional skate, so there were no line rushes to use as clues for potential combinations. Sullivan didn't disclose where Rakell will play, either. But when asked about how he sees Rakell meshing with the Penguins' star centers, Sullivan said the Penguins "believe that he can play with our guys, he brings a certain skill set that we think is complementary."
"He's a guy that can help us on both sides of the puck," Sullivan said of Rakell's skillset. "I think he brings a lot of speed to his game, he has the ability to finish. He's a good goal-scorer. He has good offensive instincts, but he also has awareness away from the puck."
Sullivan said that the most important thing, though, is that Rakell is a "real good fit" when it comes to the Penguins' style of play and needs, but still anticipates an adjustment process for Rakell as he adjusts to the Penguins' systems. Sullivan added that it's a "fine line" for the coaching staff when it comes to acclimating a new player like Rakell -- they want the player to be able to fit in, but they don't want to "paralyze them with information" as they adjust.
"We want him to have the ability to play with a free spirit," Sullivan said. "We'll try to find that sweet spot where we prepare him as far as how we're trying to play so that he can be somewhat predictable playing within our group, but also allowing him to trust his instincts."
It might be a few games before Rakell is fully acclimated, and it might take some time to figure out which line he fits with best, but the coaching staff is excited about what Rakell will be able to add down the stretch.
"We know he's a really good player," Sullivan said. "We think we're a better team today than we were yesterday."
MORE FROM THE SKATE
• It was an optional skate. The only participants were Tristan Jarry, Casey DeSmith, Teddy Blueger, Brian Boyle, Radim Zohorna, Mark Friedman, Marcus Pettersson, Chad Ruhwedel
• Zohorna was able to participate because he was recalled from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton earlier Tuesday morning.
• Jason Zucker skated on his own before the skate.
• Jarry was the first goaltender off the ice.
• Sullivan opened his press conference by thanking Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Simon.
"I just wanted to take an opportunity to say thank you to Zach and Dom Simon for everything they did as players for the Pittsburgh Penguins," Sullivan said. "They were a pleasure to coach. These guys were great teammates and did an awful lot for the Pittsburgh Penguins in our team. So I just wanted to take a moment to to express our gratitude on behalf of the coaching staff. We wish them a lot of luck in their new endeavor in Anaheim."
• Teddy Blueger's line has been a strong suit for the Penguins in recent years, flanked by Aston-Reese and Brandon Tanev, followed by Brock McGinn after Tanev was lost in the expansion draft. With Aston-Reese also now gone, and McGinn still injured, Sullivan said that "the nature of Teddy's line is a little bit different," but doesn't expect that to affect his role.
"I still think Teddy being the cornerstone of his line brings a two-way skill set," Sullivan said. "He's very conscientious defensively, he's improved a lot in the faceoff circle this year for us. He defends extremely hard. But he also has an offensive dimension to his game. In the end, he's shown an ability to chip in with goal scoring himself or helping with his line. I wouldn't anticipate in the big picture, his role changing much. I still think we can utilize him in a similar capacity."
• Zohorna's helmet had his new No. 63 on the back after giving up No. 67 to Rakell, a number I don't think Zohorna had much attachment to. When players get called up they don't always get to choose their number at first. Valtteri Puustinen, for instance, wanted to wear his usual No. 48 but was given No. 76. Zohorna typically wears No. 97 internationally and wears No. 9 in Wilkes-Barre, where some of those higher numbers are rarely given to players.
• Joonas Korpisalo will start for Columbus,
