Madden Monday: ‘Wouldn't shock me if they move Bryan Rust.’ And is freelancing Minkah Fitzpatrick a ‘diva’ move?

We might be short on sports right now, but Mark Madden isn’t short on opinions.

In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark and I get into great detail about the Penguins’ looming offseason.

General manager Jim Rutherford and head coach Mike Sullivan both make it sound like roster adjustments are coming. However, both also seem to be of the mindset that the Penguins need to keep their core three players — Sidney Crosby, Kris Letang and Evgeni Malkin.

So if changes are to come, where will they occur?

“I’m not predicting this, but it wouldn’t shock me if they move (Bryan) Rust,” Madden said. “Rust is a guy coming off a career high in goals with 27.

“He also led the team in power play goals. He’s a fast player. He’s a versatile player. And there were teams coming after him (in a trade) for some time in the past. That’s a guy who would be marketable. I don’t think they’d be looking to get rid of him. But if they need to move a contract, that’s one they could move.”

Another popular player who may not be back is forward Patric Hornqvist.

“Hornqvist is a guy they’d love to move because of the size ($15.9 million) and length (three years) of his ticket and his age (33),” Madden said. “He could’ve been a more useful component than they allowed him to be, especially in these playoffs. You can get some more mileage out of Hornqvist. That said, he is on the dump list because, as much as anything, how they’ve used him.”

We also delve into the notion of the Penguins retooling for a second time in this championship era. What Letang is thinking. And the difficult mechanics of moving on from Matt Murray in goal.

Murray is in a restricted free agent situation. That’s tricky. Plus the amount of available goalies in the free agent or trade pools this offseason may dilute what the Penguins can get in return if they try to deal him.

On the Steelers’ front, Madden has lots of thoughts. Especially about the idea that Minkah Fitzpatrick should be shifted around in the defense more often.

“It’s superserving him as a diva,” Madden says. “It’s not necessary. But we know he’s a diva because of how he got out of Miami.”

Part of the reason for Madden’s skepticism on that topic is the other safety in question — Terrell Edmunds. He doesn’t fit the profile of Chris Hope or Ryan Clark. Those are two players who were able to cover up for Troy Polamalu when he would freelance, as is being discussed with Fitzpatrick.

Meanwhile, Madden and I share concerns about the shuffle along the offensive line revolving around Matt Feiler. We explain why. Plus, we analyze the wide receiving core, the running backs and the need for the Steelers to get off to a fast start.

All that plus the realization that neither Mark nor I should be working today, anyway. We had scheduled days off because of the Def Leppard, Motley Crue, Poison, Joan Jett concert that got canceled.

It was supposed to happen Sunday at PNC Park.

So, in lieu of that, we wallow in our favorite memories of their best albums.

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden discuss possible Penguins moves, Minkah Fitzpatrick in the Steelers defense, and what was missed Sunday at PNC Park