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Bryan Rust

East Notes: Kyrou, Cody Glass, Rust

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Pittsburgh Penguins veteran winger Bryan Rust has been linked to trade discussions involving multiple teams, including the Buffalo Sabres and Columbus Blue Jackets, according to Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman on his 32 Thoughts podcast.

The Penguins have bolstered their forward pipeline by drafting Benjamin Kindel at No. 11 overall, and GM Kyle Dubas appears to be open to offers for veteran forwards. Even though Rust posted a career-best season in 2024-25, Pittsburgh’s rebuild means he and Rickard Rakell are among the tradeable players that contenders may target for scoring help.

Rust posted 31 goals and 65 points in 71 games last season, largely playing alongside Rakell and Sidney Crosby. Rust also excels as a penalty killer and has a history of elevating his game and scoring timely goals in the playoffs. While he’s 32 and has a history of injury concerns, Rust has three years remaining on his $5.125MM AAV deal that could prove team-friendly for a contending team.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • Friedman also discussed that while the New Jersey Devils have expressed interest in retaining pending restricted free agent Cody Glass, the team may not have the financial flexibility to do so. With several pending free agents—including Curtis Lazar, Brian Dumoulin, and Jake Allen—and a significant restricted free agent in Luke Hughes, Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald must be strategic in allocating the team’s $14.3 million in cap space (per PuckPedia). Glass spent last season between the Penguins and Devils and posted a combined six goals and 22 points in 65 games. The former sixth overall pick (and first in Golden Knights history), added a career-high 51.2 faceoff win percentage.
  • As the Montreal Canadiens continue to explore trade options, they have checked in on St. Louis Blues’ sniper Jordan Kyrou, per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period. The Habs traded for defensemen Noah Dobson earlier today and will absorb his new eight-year, $76MM contract. However, the team also appears interested in adding to its forward group. The Canadians finished 17th in the league with 243 goals last season, and a player like Kyrou could certainly help them climb those rankings. Playing all 82 games last season, he posted 36 goals and 70 points. It represented his third consecutive 30-goal campaign, and the 26-year-old added three goals in seven playoff games. Kyrou has five years left on his eight-year, $65MM contract, which comes with a cap hit of $8.125MM annually.

Penguins Receiving Interest In Bryan Rust

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With there being plenty of speculation about the Penguins trying to make their roster younger for the upcoming season, a veteran winger is being eyed by other teams.  Josh Yohe of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that teams are calling to gauge the potential availability of veteran winger Bryan Rust.

The 33-year-old is coming of a career year after putting up 31 goals and 34 assists this season despite missing 11 games due to injuries and illness.  That came on the heels of him matching his previous career best in points the year before when he only played in 62 games.  Suffice it to say, Rust has gone from being more of a role player at the beginning of his career to a trusted top-six option in recent seasons, making it very understandable that he’s attracting interest.

While his recent performance is certainly fueling that, so too is his contract.  Rust has three years left on his current contract with a $5.125MM cap hit.  In a cap environment that’s going to see the Upper Limit increase considerably over the next several years, inflating salaries along the way, his deal increasingly becomes more of a bargain.

A long-time linemate of Sidney Crosby, it’s likely that GM Kyle Dubas would prefer to keep Rust in the fold.  While there’s a stated desire to get younger, there doesn’t seem to be any indication that they’re looking to go into more of a full rebuild, meaning that their top veterans aren’t likely to be made available.

It’s also worth noting that Rust currently has a no-move clause for a few more weeks although that protection lapses on July 1st.  Accordingly, if a move were to be made with Dubas receiving an offer that was simply too good to refuse, it might have to wait until the start of the new league year for it to be made official.  And if the free agent market proves to be as lucrative as many expect, Rust’s trade value and Dubas’ asking price will only be going up from there.

Will The Penguins Trade One Of Sidney Crosby’s Wingers?

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The Penguins have faced numerous challenges over the past few years – some regrettable trades and dwindling attendance. They’re on the verge of missing the playoffs for the third consecutive season, following a remarkable streak of 16 straight postseason appearances from 2007 to 2022. This year will mark only the fourth time in captain Sidney Crosby’s illustrious 20-year career that he missed the playoffs. While many media pundits speculate about his desire to join a contender, Crosby has consistently expressed his commitment to finishing his career with the Penguins and being part of their future success. The organization seems eager to accommodate him, which raises an important question: Would the Penguins trade one of Crosby’s favorite wingers for a second time in the last 18 months?

Trading Rickard Rakell has been a consideration for the Penguins; reports indicate they sought a substantial return at the NHL Trade Deadline but ultimately decided to keep the 31-year-old winger for the remainder of the season. However, not trading him this year doesn’t preclude a potential deal during the summer. Rakell has three years left on his contract with a reasonable $5MM cap hit, and his value may never be higher than it is now. The Penguins could capitalize on this opportunity and accelerate their retooling efforts, but at what cost? Crosby would lose a preferred winger again, and the Penguins lack players in their system who could effectively replace Rakell.

General manager Kyle Dubas has indicated that the franchise does not want to bottom out. They fear the emergence of a losing culture affecting their players, a concern supported by the 2010 Edmonton Oilers’ repeated struggle to escape the bottom of the NHL standings despite multiple top-five picks.

For their part, the Penguins have said they are comfortable keeping Rakell. While that won’t please the fans hoping for a tank next season, it could ultimately help the Penguins’ youth movement, who will get to study the game under the tutelage of Crosby and Rakell.

If the Pens opt to go a different direction, Rakell could be traded for a haul and possibly even lead to an impact prospect, which is missing from the Penguins’ retool and is on Dubas’ radar (as per Josh Yohe of The Athletic). The Penguins GM has done well building the prospect pipeline, but Pittsburgh doesn’t have anyone in their system who screams franchise cornerstone. The other factor when considering a Rakell move is that he wasn’t good last season, tallying just 15 goals and 22 assists in 70 games. Should he fall back to that production level, his $5MM AAV looks less appealing, which would hurt his trade value and the Penguins’ potential return.

The other Crosby winger that the Penguins could consider moving is Bryan Rust. The 32-year-old has hovered around the point-per-game mark since 2019 and has three more years on his deal at a very economical $5.13MM per season. The Pontiac, Michigan native is a two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Penguins and remains one of the last holdovers from the 2016 and 2017 teams that won back-to-back championships. Rust remains a heart and soul player for Pittsburgh, and like Rakell, his value might never be higher. Rust would likely be a more challenging trade for Pens fans to swallow, given that he was drafted and developed by the team and is viewed by many as a man who should be wearing a letter in Pittsburgh.

On the flip side, Rust would also bring a strong return to Pittsburgh and could help move the Penguins’ retool along. It’s not unreasonable to think they would get a first-round pick and a prospect or two for Rust, which makes holding onto him even more complicated, even though the Penguins are keeping their superstar captain happy in doing so.

The Penguins owe a lot to Crosby; some might say he saved the franchise in 2005. Some might also say Crosby is loyal to a fault, and given the evidence, it’s easy to see why. The 37-year-old has never taken market value on a contract, playing under an $8.7MM cap hit since the 2008-09 season, and has almost always kept himself out of team business except for the Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang contract negotiations in the summer of 2022. Crosby also watched his preferred winger, Jake Guentzel, get traded away last March without a complaint. He’s perhaps the most loyal athlete in professional sports history.

But, as mentioned earlier, the talk leading into the NHL Trade Deadline was once again about trading one of Crosby’s preferred wingers, Rakell. Rust has also been mentioned in trade rumors, and given that his entire no-move clause ends this summer, he could be a name that is moved. But what kind of a message would it send to the superstar center who has given his all to the Penguins?

Many hockey pundits have speculated on whether or not Crosby will finish his career in Pittsburgh. Still, Crosby has done everything he can to dispel those rumors, including signing a two-year extension last September. It is easy to question Crosby’s decision, given the direction of the Penguins during the previous three seasons and the roster’s current state. However, looking at what Dubas has done in the last 12 months, it’s not impossible to imagine the team returning to relevance before the end of Crosby’s aforementioned two-year extension that is set to start next season. With all of that being said, Pittsburgh is still in a retool that they refuse to call a rebuild, and Crosby still very much wants to win, which has made it difficult to embrace a rebuild fully and has put Dubas in a position where he can’t fully commit to a youth movement. Penguins’ ownership and management appear committed to the retooling strategy, and Crosby is also on board based on how he spoke to Elliotte Friedman on the 32 Thoughts podcast.

Regardless of who Dubas moves out, this offseason will be a franchise-defining one. They could push in and make aggressive moves over the next 12 months to try and get Crosby and the Penguins back into the playoff picture in what could be teammate Evgeni Malkin’s last season in the NHL.

The team could also continue gradually adding to their pipeline and draft picks. Either way, the Penguins are at a strange fork in the road as they try to navigate the past, the present, and the future of an organization that has had megastars and championships on the regular since the beginning of the 1990s.

Dubas must decide whether to retool around Sidney Crosby, which likely means keeping Rakell and Rust for one last run or leaning into a deeper rebuild that could see one or both of them sent away via trade. Whatever the case, it’s safe to assume spring and summer will bring a lot of trade winds for the Penguins, as they also have star defenseman Erik Karlsson, who will likely be traded.

Photo by Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Latest On The Pittsburgh Penguins

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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, despite receiving several offers for his services. Pittsburgh general manager Kyle Dubas doesn’t want the Penguins to tank over the next few years and instead hopes to mirror the retool that the Washington Capitals recently went through.

Dubas did make plenty of moves leading up to the deadline, but didn’t move any of the bigger names such as Rakell or Erik Karlsson. Yohe believes that the Penguins would like to move Karlsson in the summer and are willing to retain as much as $3MM to facilitate a move. Karlsson hasn’t been terrible in Pittsburgh, but his style of play has not meshed well, and he has not been the Norris Trophy defenseman that Pittsburgh thought they were trading for in the summer of 2023.

If the Penguins move on from Karlsson, it will put more pressure on defenseman Kris Letang. Although it’s questionable as to whether he will stick around. Yohe speculates that Dubas will approach Letang to see if he still has interest in remaining in Pittsburgh during their roster turnover. Letang has a full no trade clause and three years remaining on his contract at a $6.1MM AAV. His actual salary in those three years will be $4.8MM per year, which could be appealing for teams on an internal budget. Letang is having arguably the worst season of his professional career but remains a top four NHL defenseman. He hasn’t publicly expressed any interest in moving on from the Penguins.

Yohe expects teams to call Pittsburgh this summer about forward Bryan Rust as his full no movement clause expires. While teams will be interested, Yohe doesn’t believe the Penguins want to move the veteran, who is playing some of the best hockey of his career with 21 goals and 26 assists in 55 games this season.

Given the nature of the Penguins’ deadline, and a desire to keep high character veterans in the fold, it looks as though the Penguins intend to turn things around quickly rather than enduring a five-year rebuild. Yohe acknowledges that next year will be tough for Pittsburgh, but the Penguins are hoping to contend for a playoff spot again in the next two years.

Penguins Activate Bryan Rust From Injured Reserve

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Penguins winger Bryan Rust will be back in the lineup tonight against the Flyers after a brief absence. The team announced he’d been activated from injured reserve after missing three games with a lower-body injury, which he sustained before the 4 Nations break. They placed winger Bokondji Imama on IR in a corresponding transaction.

Pittsburgh is now entirely out of the playoff picture. Their record is 23-27-9, and based on points percentage, they only slightly lead the Sabres for last place in the Eastern Conference. They’ve already begun selling off pieces ahead of the trade deadline and could do more, but Rust won’t be one of them with a full no-movement clause and three seasons left on his contract at a $5.125MM cap hit.

Things got off to a tough start for Rust in 2024-25. He limped out of the gate along with the rest of the team, limited to eight points and a staggering -16 rating through 16 games. A three-point effort against the Canucks just before Thanksgiving re-ignited his season, however. He’s now up to 20-22–42 in 48 appearances, and while his -21 rating is still set to be the worst of his career, he’s at least stopped the bleeding in that regard. He continues to see solely first-line deployment alongside Sidney Crosby, averaging over 19 minutes per game, and has secured his sixth consecutive 20-goal season.

One of the most consistent secondary scorers of the last decade, Rust will return to his usual spot on the top line with Crosby and Rickard Rakell. He’s now missed 11 games with lower-body issues this season, cause for concern as he turns 33 this offseason, but the 5’11” winger remains one of the Penguins’ top few scorers.

While Pittsburgh’s goaltending issues have dragged down nearly every skater’s rating this season, concerns about Rust’s defensive impact are legitimate. His -3.4 expected rating is better than only Noel Acciari and Matt Grzelcyk among active Penguins, and his 49.2 CF% at even strength is the worst of his career. The Crosby-Rakell duo has also posted higher expected goal shares at 5v5 when paired with either Anthony Beauvillier or Evgeni Malkin, per MoneyPuck.

Nonetheless, he looks to end the season on a high note in advance of his NMC expiring on July 1. If the Penguins continue to aggressively retool their roster, he could find himself on the move later in the offseason after his trade protection lapses.

Imama, a 28-year-old enforcer, has been on the roster since a recall from AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in late January. He’s been out since sustaining an upper-body injury against the Rangers on Feb. 7, so he can return at any time. The 221-lb winger has a plus-one rating and seven penalty minutes in six showings for Pittsburgh since being called up, averaging just 5:28 per game.

Penguins Recall Vasiliy Ponomarev, Place Bryan Rust On Injured Reserve

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Forward prospect Vasiliy Ponomarev is expected to get his fourth opportunity with the Pittsburgh Penguins this season. The Penguins announced they’ve recalled Ponomarev from their AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and have placed veteran forward Bryan Rust on injured reserve in a corresponding roster move.

Ponomarev was selected 53rd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft by the Carolina Hurricanes. He spent two and a half years in the Hurricanes organization, scoring 35 goals and 85 points in 116 AHL contests split between the AHL’s Chicago Wolves and Tucson Roadrunners. Carolina eventually traded Ponomarev to the Penguins in the deal that sent Jake Guentzel to Raleigh last year.

Ponomarev’s performance in the AHL has improved since he moved to Pennsylvania, though the change has not been significant. While playing with the Hurricanes organization, he averaged 0.73 points per game starting in the latter part of the 2021-22 season. Since joining the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, his average has increased to 0.80 PPG.

Despite limited opportunities, Ponomarev has not made a significant impact at the NHL level. He made his NHL debut last season with Carolina, scoring only one goal and one assist in five games.

He’s certainly not expected to replicate Rust’s production this season. The 11-year veteran winger has scored 20 goals and 42 points in 46 games for the Penguins this season, ranking third on the team in scoring despite losing several games to injury.

Although injuries have limited his availability the last two years, Rust’s continued point production and renewed shot efficiency have made him the subject of trade rumors this year. He owns a no-movement clause in his contract, he loses all trade protection on July 1st, 2025.

Penguins’ Bryan Rust Day-To-Day With Lower-Body Injury

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will once again be without top-line winger Bryan Rust, who head coach Mike Sullivan listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury, per Josh Yohe of The Athletic. Rust left the team’s Thursday matchup against Anaheim in the second period, after taking a big hit from Ducks defenseman Radko Gudas. Rust has already missed seven games this season. He was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury two separate times in October.

Rust has continued to stand as one of Pittsburgh’s top forwards, and a fantastic compliment to superstar Sidney Crosby, this season. He has 19 goals and 38 points in 43 games, putting him on pace for 36 goals and 72 points. Both marks would be career-highs for Rust, who so far hasn’t managed more than 28 goals (set in 2023-24) and 58 points (set in 2021-22) in a single season.

That’s largely thanks to a perennial challenge with the injury bug. Through his 11 years in the NHL, Rust has only managed to appear in more than 65 games three times. He was still finding his way to top-end scoring for the first two occurrences – the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons, when Rust only scored 38 points in 69 games and 35 points in 72 games respectively. He scored a bit more in his healthiest season: the 2022-23 campaign, when he scored 46 points in 81 games – but that year still stands out as a cold spell amid Rust’s string of 50-point seasons. This season could be Rust’s chance to finally couple top-end scoring with routine ice time, but those odds are waning as he approaches 10 absences on the year.

Blake Lizotte will likely draw back into the lineup in Rust’s absence when the Penguins visit the Seattle Kraken on Saturday. Lizotte has rotated into the team’s fourth line throughout January, but he hasn’t recorded a point since the holiday break. His last point came via a goal in Pittsburgh’s December 23rd win over Philadelphia, giving Lizotte a 13-game scoreless streak headed into the weekend. The Penguins will have to spread time around with a top-line option unavailable, which could be the setup Lizotte needs to get this monkey off his back.

Penguins Activate Bryan Rust, Place Cody Glass On IR

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The Pittsburgh Penguins will have one forward in the lineup tonight exchanged for another. The organization announced it has activated Bryan Rust off the injured reserve while placing Cody Glass on it.

Rust has been dealing with a lower-body injury for the last little while, and it’s related to the injury that kept him out of the lineup at the beginning of the season. The veteran didn’t make his 2024-25 debut until October 12th and managed three goals and four points in eight contests before re-aggravating the lower-body concern on October 26th.

The Penguins expect Rust to serve in a top-six role this evening and could even rediscover his role on the team’s first line. He’s typically been Sidney Crosby’s linemate, but the team may opt for Rust to play on the second line in light of Evgeni Malkin and Rickard Rakell playing on the captain’s wings.

It’s not all good news on the injury front in Pittsburgh. Glass, who’s nursing an upper-body injury, lands on the injured reserve for the first time this season.

After leaving the contest without a return, Glass was seemingly injured in last night’s game against the Carolina Hurricanes. In his first year with the franchise, he’s played in 14 contests for the Penguins but has only collected four assists while posting a -7 rating.

He’s primarily played in a bottom-six role averaging 11:48 of ice time per game so there shouldn’t be too much roster maneuvering for Pittsburgh. Still, with the team sitting toward the bottom of the Metropolitan Division standings, it’s more insult to injury for Pittsburgh.

Penguins Notes: Jarry, Rust, Nieto

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Josh Yohe of The Athletic expects Pittsburgh Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry to return to the NHL lineup sometime next week. Jarry has been with the Penguins American Hockey League affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and has posted stellar numbers with a 3-0 record and a .937 save percentage as well as a 1.95 goals-against average.

Yohe thinks Jarry may bump rookie Joel Blomqvist back to the AHL which makes sense, given the play of fellow netminder Alex Nedeljkovic. The Penguins need to see Jarry in NHL action again before they can decide what to do in the crease for the rest of the season, and they could certainly use some good news after a rough start to the season. The Penguins can keep Jarry in the AHL for two weeks during his conditioning stint, which makes November 11th the date he will likely return to the NHL.

In other Pittsburgh Penguins notes:

  • Penguins forward Bryan Rust reportedly reaggravated a preseason injury when he exited a game against the Vancouver Canucks last week (as per Josh Yohe of The Athletic). Rust suffered a lower-body injury in the preseason, and when the injury resurfaced last week, there was fear that it could be serious, but that is not the case. The Penguins want to get Rust back to full health and plan to ease him back into things so he can function optimally when he is in the lineup.
  • Penguins forward Matthew Nieto was reportedly a full participant in practice today (as per Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). The 31-year-old has been out of action since last season as he continues to recover from offseason knee surgery. He remains on long-term injured reserve and will need to be activated once he is cleared for game action. It’s fair to wonder if Nieto will be a regular when he is ready to return, as the Penguins have a pile of depth options for their bottom six and may not have room for the 11-year NHL veteran.

East Notes: Senators, Michkov, Rust

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The Senators are .500 through their first 10 games, but that’s been enough to stay on the verge of a playoff position in an Atlantic Division that’s been mainly underwhelming to begin the season. Injuries have played a significant factor, with new starter Linus Ullmark missing a few games and other essential pieces, namely center Shane Pinto and right-shot defenseman Artem Zub, currently sidelined with significant but not ultra-long-term ailments.

Those latter two absences have led the Senators to consider adding more depth to those positions in particular, general manager Steve Staios told Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Citizen yesterday. That’s likely an action item for later in the season, though. Staios still wants to give some runway to their internal options to prove they can step up in relief. “I believe that leads to stability as well as confidence in the group,” he said.

So far, those internal options have done the job and likely lessened Staios’ urgency to make a move. Depth pivot Adam Gaudette has five goals in nine games as an injury fill-in after spending most of last season in the AHL, while 24-year-old Jacob Bernard-Docker has posted solid possession numbers (57.7 CF%, 50.0 xGF%) while relieving Zub on the back end.

Elsewhere in the Eastern Conference:

  • It’s been a bit of a rough stretch for current Calder Trophy frontrunner Matvei Michkov over the past couple of games. After going point-per-game through his first nine appearances and taking home NHL Rookie of the Month honors for October, he’s gone without a point in his past four and recorded a season-low 13:56 on Thursday against the Blues before posting a -3 rating in a shutout loss to the Bruins earlier today. That’s led to intermittent benchings from John Tortorella, something neither coach nor player views as a real cause for concern, writes Kevin Kurz of The Athletic. “I just wanted him to sit (on the bench), relax, think about what I said to him,” Tortorella said. “I think it was two or three rotations, we put him back out there. He may miss games, who knows? I don’t know what’s going to happen. But that’s part of the development of a 19-year-old kid.“
  • Penguins winger Bryan Rust skated today for the first time since landing on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, relays Seth Rorabaugh of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The 32-year-old has now missed a pair of games with the injury, which he sustained on Oct. 26 against the Canucks. He’ll be eligible to come off IR anytime but is still listed as week-to-week. He had three goals and an assist in eight appearances before exiting the lineup.

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