In his eighth NHL season, right-winger Rickard Rakell has plenty to be proud of, but this season was especially a worthwhile one for him. While not nearly as great as the career year he had in 2017-2018, this was looking to really be a bounce back season for Rakell after a somewhat disappointing ’18-’19 season.
In four fewer games than what he played last season, Rakell was one point short of tying his production number of forty-three. In sixty-five games, Rakell finished with fifteen goals, twenty-seven assists, and forty-two points, and he still had the remaining eleven games to improve his numbers before the season was ultimately halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He was also averaging 18:10 on the ice, so he finished just short of last season with less time on the ice as well. Surprisingly, his face-off skills as a right-winger are impressive as well. In thirteen face-offs taken, he won ten of those for a face-off percentage of 76.9. It was by far the least face-offs he had seen in a season, but the ten that he won far outweigh the three he lost, so his credibility definitely went up for next season.
For his other statistics, Rakell finished with eighty-one hits, thirty takeaways, and three short-handed assists. Although it does not seem like much for what was expected of Rakell after back-to-back stellar seasons, he deserves a lot of praise. Keep in mind, Rakell fell single-digit numbers short in multiple categories from last season ninety-five less minutes and four fewer games, so realistically this was a big step up for him after getting harped on for not staying consistent. He has not fallen under forty points since his third season in the NHL and continues to put up numbers to help the team up in his eight season. He could even be considered one of the main faces of the franchise at this point with how much he as accomplished in Anaheim. His Swedish friend on the left-wing would most likely agree with all the help that he has received from Rakell.