Penguins A to Z: Bryan Rust can really cash in next offseason

With the Penguins in the midst of their offseason, the Tribune-Review is looking at all 48 players currently under NHL contracts to the organization in alphabetical order, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to top-six winger Jason Zucker.

Bryan Rust

Position: Right winger

Shoots: Right

Age: 29

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 192 pounds

2020-21 NHL statistics: 56 games, 42 points (22 goals, 20 assists)

Contract: Third year of a four-year contract with a salary cap hit of $3.5 million. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2022.

Acquired: Third-round draft pick (No. 80 overall), June 26, 2010

2020-21 season: Usually when you get moved off Evgeni Malkin’s line, it’s because you weren’t up to the task of playing with a future hall-of-fame center.

In Bryan Rust’s case, he was shifted off Malkin’s line to play with another future hall-of-fame center: Sidney Crosby.

After enjoying his first 20-goal campaign in 2019-20 while primarily skating with Malkin, Rust opened 2020-21 on Malkin’s right wing again. But those designs dissipated fairly quickly.

During the sixth game of the season, a 3-2 home win against the New York Rangers, forward Evan Rodrigues suffered an undisclosed injury at 9 minutes, 11 seconds of the second period. Having opened the season as a fill-in on the right wing of the top line, Rodrigues was replaced by Rust.

Little more than two minutes later, at the 11:24 mark, Rust scored by converting a stretch pass from Crosby into a breakaway goal.

With the exception of a brief experiment with Kasperi Kapanen, Rust was bolted onto the top line along with Crosby and Jake Guentzel at left wing. That trio drove the vast majority of the Penguins’ offense all season as Crosby (24 goals), Guentzel (23) and Rust were the team’s top three goal scorers.

Beyond five-on-five play, Rust, who was one of two members of the team to play in all 56 games in the regular season (Guentzel was the other), also staked a bigger role on the top power-play unit, finishing with six goals on the man advantage, second most on the squad.

Rust’s presence on the penalty kill was lessened, however, in 2020-21. After averaging 1:38 of short-handed ice time per contest in 2019-20, he saw an average of only 22 seconds with the penalty kill this past season.

In the playoffs, Rust, like most of his teammates, was limited by a stout New York Islanders defense. In six games, he generated three points (two goals, one assist) as the Penguins were dispatched in the first round.

The future: Rust was one of 11 players the Penguins opted to protect in advance of Wednesday’s expansion draft. So it’s safe to assume he’ll return for the 2021-22 season and inhabit a prominent role again.

Where he’ll be in the 2022-23 season is a good question.

As a pending unrestricted free agent who has improved steadily throughout his seven NHL seasons, Rust could set himself up for a big payday during the 2022 offseason.

One of the most malleable players in franchise history, Rust has shown the versatility to play either wing on all four lines and contribute on each special teams unit.

A strong skater, he offers a solid forechecking presence who creates opportunities for his linemates. Additionally, he’s a very confident shooter, as evidenced by the 154 shots he put on net last season, second most on the team.

There are a lot of variables that are out of Rust’s control between now and the 2022 offseason, particularly the NHL’s economics as it tries to emerge from two pandemic-shortened seasons that have damaged revenues and, by extension, kept the salary cap flat.

But if the league gets on track in some fashion and Rust continues to flirt with a 30-goal pace, he really could cash in.

Follow the Penguins all season long.