Penguins' Bryan Rust adapting to life without fellow Notre Dame grad Riley Sheahan

Pittsburgh Penguins winger Bryan Rust hasn’t noticed teammates giving him the cold shoulder in the locker room or avoiding sitting next to him on the team bus, but it would be easy to see why they might.

Rust’s closest friends have been finding their way off the roster as of late.

Last week, it was Riley Sheahan, a fellow Notre Dame product, who found himself traded to the Florida Panthers. Last summer, Tom Kuhnhackl didn’t receive a contract offer and signed with the New York Islanders. Before that, Conor Sheary and Scott Wilson were dealt away.

“I’d like to hope people aren’t avoiding me, but sometimes that’s just how things go,” Rust said with a shrug Tuesday.

Jokes aside, Sheahan’s departure had two lasting effects on Rust.

First, he had to find a new partner for his Seats for Strength charity initiative. Rust and Sheahan bought four season tickets for families raising children with emotional and mental health issues. They met with those families outside the locker room after every home game.

Jake Guentzel has stepped in to take Sheahan’s place.

Second, Sheahan’s departure means more personnel changes on the penalty kill, which adapted to the loss of Carl Hagelin earlier in the season.

Rust and Matt Cullen are now the first pair over the boards when the Penguins take a penalty. Newly acquired Jared McCann and call-ups Teddy Blueger and Garrett Wilson have seen time on the PK lately, especially while Zach Aston-Reese remains out with a hand injury.

“It’s definitely a little bit different,” Rust said. “We’ve definitely seen some guys come in and out. The coaching staff does a pretty good job of making sure we’re ready. That might put a little bit more responsibility on Cully and I, as of right now, to find those guys that are going to be regular PK guys along with us.”

The ace in the hole for the Penguins has been the penalty-killing pair of Sidney Crosby and Guentzel. Coach Mike Sullivan tries not to use them too much short-handed to manage their overall minutes, but they have been effective in the role.

“That’s obviously helped a lot,” Rust said. “They do a really good job out there. They pay attention to the details, but they’re also a threat offensively. I think that brings a little bit more of a dynamic to our penalty kill.”

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Jonathan Bombulie is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jonathan at jbombulie@tribweb.com or via Twitter @BombulieTrib.