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Pittsburgh Penguins Could Deal Championship Veteran in Offseason Rebuild
There's no denying that the Penguins are in the midst of a rebuild and that more tough times could be ahead, which could include a potential trade of a popular veteran forward.
The Pittsburgh Penguins have now missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the last 3 years in a row, marking the longest drought of captain and future Hall of Famer Sidney Crosby's NHL career.
Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas has already made a major change in leadership, removing coach Mike Sullivan after nearly 10 years on the job; the search continues for Pittsburgh's next head coach.
But could a major move involving a popular veteran forward be in the works?
Per Rob Couch of NHL Trade Rumors, Rust is a player the Penguins could consider shopping.
Rust would be a player that any team would love to have, especially a contender looking for an impactful top-6 addition at a fair price. I believe the Penguins will hold onto him, but if they aren't in the playoff race at the trade deadline, Rust's name will come up a lot.
Rust, who was taken 80th overall by the Penguins in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, has played his entire NHL career with the club. He also scored a new career-best 31 goals this season.
He has 437 points (203G, 234A) in 638 career games; earlier this year, he also reached his 200th career goal.
Rust was also a key member of the back to back Stanley Cup winning teams of 2016 and 2017 in Pittsburgh, who became the 1st team in just under 20 years to repeat as champions since the Detroit Red Wings did so in 1997 and 1998.
He contributed 9 points in both the 2016 and 2017 Stanley Cup runs.
| POLL | ||
JUIN 1 | 164 ANSWERS Pittsburgh Penguins Could Deal Championship Veteran in Offseason Rebuild Will the Penguins shop Bryan Rust this summer? | ||
| Yes | 70 | 42.7 % |
| No | 94 | 57.3 % |
| List of polls | ||