Bryan Rust Of The Pittsburgh Penguins Is Not Going To Be Easy To Keep
By Jim Lynch
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in a challenging salary cap situation this offseason, and one forward they need to decide whether or not they are going to re-sign is Bryan Rust.
Rust is in the final year of his 3.5 million dollar contract that the 30-year-old signed in 2018 for four years. The thing is, Rust has scored over 20 goals every year the past three seasons and has been one of the best Penguins this team has had.
He has gone from being a bottom-six guy to being a good winger on one of the Penguin’s best lines, and he just so happens to be looking for a contract at the same time as some of the Penguins greats.
Bryan Rust is looking for a new contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but so are Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
While Rust has expressed some interest in staying in Pittsburgh, this quote tells what is really on his mind.
"But I think for me, it’s just getting to a point where I feel like I’ve gotten what I’ve earned and what I feel like I’m worth. I feel like I’ve played to a higher level than what my contract has said the last few years. Moving forward, just getting something’s that’s fair and I feel like that will benefit me and my family moving forward.”– Rust said on his potential contract extension a few days ago."
Rust deserves to be making big money, especially after playing at a high level the past four years on a relatively fair contract. Pittsburgh might not be able to offer that to him with just under 30 million in cap space and star players like Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin needing to be signed.
The Penguins have some 11 players from their roster looking for contracts. Even Casey DeSmith and Louis Domingue are on the hunt for new deals. There are so many question marks in Pittsburgh and there still is the overarching issue that this team has not won a playoff series since 2018.
Keeping this group together in Pittsburgh is not going to be easy. Malkin and Letang have to be the highest priority for the franchise, considering how much they have given to the team over the years. Considering Rust was already playing for less before, it is hard to imagine him taking another cut to stay in Pittsburgh. Only time will tell how things turn out.