![]() The team still has pending unrestricted free agents in Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang, among others, and getting Rust at a low price is only going to help their efforts in keeping them. It also helps the Penguins ahead of what's going to be a very tight cap situation. Plus, with the salary cap also due to increase again in the near future, Rust's contract could look like even more of a bargain down the line. At that price, even if his production does slip to a degree, he'd likely still be providing more offense than a lot of other players in his pay range. If he can sustain this pace for a few more years, he'll be providing huge value for Pittsburgh. Given that Rust has posted near one-point-per-game numbers and has shown to be capable of scoring goals at a high rate, locking him down for just $5.125 million is a steal. In terms of the cap hit, the Penguins did great. ![]() Rust would've been a very attractive free-agent forward for a lot of teams, so Pittsburgh locking him up and keeping him off the open market is a major move. Over the past three seasons, however, he's seen a significant increase in his role, averaging 19:24 per game. For comparison, from 2016-19, Rust averaged 15:18 per game in ice time. *Watch NHL Games LIVE With fuboTV (click for free trial)*Ī lot of that has to do with his role, playing up the lineup and seeing a huge increase in ice time. However, from 2019-20 to 2021-22, Rust has scored 73 goals and registered 156 points in 171 games. Through three seasons from 2016-17 until 2018-19, he basically scored at a pace of between 15 and 20 goals per 82 and between 40 and 45 points per 82 in each season. Over the last three seasons, Rust has seen a huge increase in his role and production with the Penguins. He's coming off a contract that carried a cap hit of $3.5 million and was part of Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup-winning teams in both 20. This season, Rust scored 24 goals and racked up 58 points across 60 games, a pace of 33 goals and 79 points per 82 games. Rust is 30 years old and has spent his entire NHL career with the Penguins, playing 424 regular-season games with the team over eight seasons. The Pittsburgh Penguins have locked up one of their most notable pending free agents, signing forward Bryan Rust to a six-year contract extension, which carries a $5.125 million cap hit. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |