Pittsburgh Penguins sign Bryan Rust to four-year extension
The Pittsburgh Penguins have locked up restricted free agent wing Bryan Rust for the next four seasons
The Pittsburgh Penguins offseason should be one with a few changes. One thing which will remain constant is the presence of wing Bryan Rust. The Penguins have announced they have signed the restricted free agent forward to a four-year deal worth $14 million. This gives him a cap hit of $3.5 million per season.
The #Pens have re-signed Bryan Rust to a four-year contract.
— Pittsburgh Penguins (@penguins) June 26, 2018
The deal runs through the 2021.22 campaign, and it carries an average annual value of $3.5 million.
More details: https://t.co/tQn2UPLZ9Q pic.twitter.com/KDtB9aHLaE
More from Puck Prose
- Detroit Red Wings 2023 Rookie Camp Has Plenty of Ups and Downs
- This Columbus Blue Jackets rookie doesn’t want to be forgotten
- 2 trades the Boston Bruins must make to secure the Stanley Cup
- 3 reasons the Avalanche won’t win the Stanley Cup in 2024
- This is a big year for Alex Turcotte and the Los Angeles Kings
Last season, Rust had a career year. He played in a career-best 69 games and put up career highs in assists (25) and points (38). Rust also scored 13 goals. 31 of those 38 points came at even strength, which is pretty good.
However, he has yet to find his spot on the power-play. Rust had just under 55 minutes of power-play time with just four power-play points. However, he did do well while killing penalties, as his 6.84 goals against per hour while shorthanded was the third lowest among Penguins forwards (minimum 90 minutes).
Rust has been a consistent playoff performer for the Penguins in the past, totaling 18 points in 46 playoff games while helping Pittsburgh win back-to-back Stanley Cups. However, he had just three points (all goals) during the 2018 Stanley Cup Playoffs in 12 games.
Ideally, you’d like to see more from someone who gets regular playing time with Sidney Crosby. But Rust has been a bit unlucky as far as injuries. His two-way play is very good, as his 5.99 percent five-on-five relative CorsiFor percentage led all Penguins forwards with at least 200 minutes played.
At worst, Rust has proven he’s a very capable top-six forward. $3.5 million is a slight overpay given his injury history and lack of production, but it’s reasonable and shouldn’t be an albatross. With the Rust signing, the Penguins have 19 players under contract with just over $5 million of cap space. This should let Pittsburgh explore trading one of their forwards, whether that be Phil Kessel, Carl Hagelin, or Conor Sheary.