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.

Kyle Dubas had himself quite the day during the trade deadline, making multiple moves, and he finally took some time to address five key points. Pittsburgh Penguins President/GM Kyle Dubas spoke to the media Friday after the trade deadline passed.

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.

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.

Edmonton Oilers general manager Stan Bowman hinted Friday that the team was hard at work on a big swing ahead of the trade deadline. “If you knew everything that might have happened, you’d be surprised,