Top NHL Insider Reveals Penguins Are Aggressively Shopping Top-Line Forward
NHL insider David Pagnotta revealed today that the Pittsburgh Penguins are dangling forward Bryan Rust on the trade market.
Pagnotta revealed this news in a recent interview, echoing similar sentiments that have been made about the team this season.
With the Penguins falling out of relevance in regards to the playoff race, we can and should expect a fire sale at some point, and Rust may very well be one of the pieces moved.
Rust has played well so far this season. He has missed some time due to injury, but through 19 games he has 12 points including 7 goals.
That is good enough to tie him for 3rd on the team in goals alongside fellow top-line winger Anthony Beauvillier.
Penguins fans seem to be fairly split on the idea of trading him though. In a poll on X from last month, just over half of fans responded saying they would trade Rust this season, but a very large minority opposed the idea.
That being said, the Penguins themselves are going to force Kyle Dubas' hand at some point.
The team currently sits dead last in the Metro Division and is 26th overall in the NHL, giving them the 7th best odds to win the draft lottery.
With the core players in Pittsburgh aging out, it is finally clear, without a doubt, that the Crosby-Malkin era is over.
While both players are still on the team, they will not be making the playoffs again.
At this point, the two of them still being there has more to do with nostalgia than being competitive.
While Rust has been in Pittsburgh his entire career as well, that history is a lot shorter than Crosby and Malkin's so his departure would hurt less.
Still though, any fan that has ever gone through a rebuild with their team knows how painful it can be. Sadly, in this case, Rust will be just one of many players likely to leave Pittsburgh over the course of the next 12 months.
