

#BRYAN RUST KID FREE#
Kasperi Kapanen and Danton Heinen are restricted free agents.

Chad Ruhwedel is also an unrestricted free agent. Rodrigues, in particular, is due for a big raise. Zach Aston-Reese and Evan Rodrigues are unrestricted free agents this summer. So that leaves around $12-13 million for Rust. Then consider that Malkin and Letang combined will still cost the Penguins around $16-17 million in cap space, I’d guess. So, this brings us to a very important, very delicate question: How do the Penguins go about keeping Malkin, Letang and Rust through this season?Īs things currently stand, the Penguins have around $29 million to play with on next season’s roster, give or take. It’s difficult to imagine a scenario where the Penguins are better equipped to win a championship with Rust playing elsewhere. It’s Ron Hextall’s duty to give the Penguins chances to win the Stanley Cup if the foundation for a championship remains. Only Colorado and Florida have more points. They’re in first place in the best division in hockey. The future will be bleak at some point, perhaps, but the Penguins are still terrific after all these years. He did, however, give the Penguins a couple of excellent seasons when they still believed themselves to be Stanley Cup contenders. And you know what? He’s not the same player. Jim Rutherford ultimately gave Hornqvist a five-year deal even though it was widely believed he wouldn’t still be the same player by the end of that deal. In many ways, this is reminiscent of the Patric Hornqvist situation. He’s not a kid anymore, but he’s not ancient by any stretch. The speed he plays with, the flexibility he gives us. “We aren’t the same team when he’s out of the lineup. “People don’t understand how important Rusty is to our system,” Tocchet said. I’ll never forget a conversation I had with Rick Tocchet during the 2016 playoffs. Teams with Stanley Cup aspirations don’t let players like Rust go gentle into that good night. Nor does trading him before the deadline this spring, even if you’re convinced he’s going to walk after the season. Nah, letting him walk doesn’t particularly make sense. He’s legitimately good on the power play now, and, at some point during that season, a good player became something more than good as the game began to slow down for him.
#BRYAN RUST KID HOW TO#
Somewhere along the way, probably during the 2019-20 season, Rust learned how to be effective when the game becomes stationary.
#BRYAN RUST KID FULL#
Rust was always a good player in full flight because of his blazing speed, his fearlessness, his defensive awareness and his above-average shot. And, unlike the Rust who entered the NHL in 2014, this version has actually become quite the playmaker. His goal-scoring touch has improved dramatically during the past three seasons. Both of the Penguins’ future Hall of Fame centers love playing with Rust. The same can be said of Malkin, by the way. He’s among Crosby’s favorite linemates of all time. Now? Crosby would probably travel to Boston for a few days and have a meeting with the Fenway Group head honchos if Mike Sullivan dared to remove Rust from his right side. He played one period on Crosby’s line during that season, and he was banished after 20 minutes because of his refusal or inability to send the puck back to the captain. When he arrived in Pittsburgh for a brief stint during the 2014-15 season, he never passed the puck.

Rarely have we seen a player who so consistently improves on an almost annual basis. Here are his goal per game totals, while we’re at it: These are Rust’s point per game totals, starting with his rookie season:
