The Pittsburgh Penguins might be ready to shake things up in a big way. Two of their top forwards, Bryan Rust and Rickard Rakell, are drawing serious interest from teams around the NHL.
Rust is coming off the best season of his career at age 33. He put up 31 goals and 65 points in just 71 games – pretty impressive numbers for a guy who’s spent his whole career in Pittsburgh.
He’s been a Penguin since they drafted him back in 2010, and his 203 career goals put him ninth all-time for the franchise. That’s some serious staying power.
The timing’s interesting because Rust’s no-trade clause just expired. Even though he wants to stay in Pittsburgh, he doesn’t have much say in the matter anymore.
Rakell’s been on fire too. He bounced back in a huge way last season, scoring a career-best 35 goals and 70 points while playing alongside Rust and Sidney Crosby.
Both players have team-friendly contracts running for three more years – Rust at $5.125 million per year and Rakell at an even $5 million.
The Penguins’ GM Kyle Dubas isn’t actively shopping either player. But word is he’d listen if someone made an offer he couldn’t refuse.
Several teams are already sniffing around:
– Toronto Maple Leafs
– Los Angeles Kings
– San Jose Sharks
– New Jersey Devils
– Buffalo Sabres
– Seattle Kraken
Here’s what makes this really interesting: The Penguins have over $15 million in cap space. That means they could take on a bigger contract in return if it helps another team make the numbers work.
For a team in rebuild mode, having two hot trade targets with reasonable contracts is a pretty nice position to be in.
