I feel like a wishy-washy politician, just riding the fence.
You can’t trade Bryan Rust. He’s an incredible leader, a perfect mentor for the young Pittsburgh Penguins who will reach the NHL in the next few seasons. Plus, Sidney Crosby loves him. Keeping the captain happy should be important. And Rust can still play. It’s just the right thing to do.
I’ve uttered all of those words, and I’ve meant them. I hold Rust in the highest regard as a player and person. Keeping people and players like him is what winning organizations do.
Then, of course, the other way of thinking creeps into my mind.
You have to trade Rust. Rickard Rakell, too. The Penguins won’t be good for a while longer, and by the time they are, Rust and Rakell will be nearing retirement age. Their value is higher now than it will ever be. It seems to be a seller’s market. Do what you’ve got to do, Kyle.
You can make a compelling argument for either side. There are no right or wrong answers here, and no trade is ever a sure thing, no matter how good the return may be on paper.
As the Penguins’ rebuild heads into the 18-month mark — it officially began when they traded Jake Guentzel to Carolina — I’m starting to agree with the voice in my head that says the team should sell, sell, sell.
Here’s why.
Starting with the Guentzel trade, Penguins president/general manager Kyle Dubas has done a wonderful job of acquiring assets. That has been his primary job, and he has excelled. The Penguins picked three times in the first round of last month’s draft. Their draft pick totals for the next three seasons dwarf those of other franchises.
Unlike the previous two decades, the Penguins now possess legitimate talent that’s not far from arriving in Pittsburgh. Sergei Murashov. Joel Blomqvist. Harrison Brunicke. Benjamin Kindel. Bill Zonnon. Will Horcoff. Emil Pieniniemi. Owen Pickering. Finn Harding. They’re all on their way.
I’d be willing to bet that the majority of those players will become NHL regulars. There may even be a standout or two on that list. For the sake of this conversation, let’s throw in Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen. They’re going to make the team out of training camp, but they’re still essentially prospects. And good ones.
You’ll note that I didn’t say “great ones.” And that’s my point. The Penguins didn’t get a top-five pick in the 2025 draft. They were in range for a while, but that late winning streak did them no favors. Maybe Kindel will become a great one. We’ll see. But I’ll bet on the top-five pick becoming a star more often than the 11th pick.
Dubas has done an outstanding job of adding quantity to the organization with solid draft picks. A foundation is in place. Young, talented goaltenders are in every direction. Blue-line prospects Brunicke, Pieniniemi, Pickering and Harding are legitimate. The trio of first-round pick forwards taken last month gives the Penguins something to look forward to — perhaps building blocks to a return to competitiveness.
These are all positive developments for Dubas and the Penguins. But it’s only the start, and the hardest part remains.
Here is the harsh reality — the biggest thing holding the Penguins back from making the playoffs and doing damage once they’re there: They only have one star in their organization, and he turns 38 in two weeks.
Crosby is still great, but his age casts a shadow. More importantly, past him, there’s no other star power left. Guentzel was a star in Pittsburgh, but he’s gone. Evgeni Malkin was a superstar for a long time but no longer is, and this will likely be his final NHL campaign. Erik Karlsson was a star for a long time, but he’s not been one in Pittsburgh. Kris Letang’s days of being a star are through.
All of this leads us back to Rust and Rakell. No, they aren’t stars, but they’re the kind of guys who make stars better. They’re better than good. They are also the most movable chips Dubas has.
You don’t rebuild by riding fences. We’ve reached that point with the Penguins.
Dubas shouldn’t rush into a Rust or Rakell trade. A lot of fans were upset when Dubas didn’t unload Rakell in a seller’s market at last season’s trade deadline. However, the offers for Rakell were not nearly as enticing as assumed. So, Dubas decided to stand pat, which was probably the right decision.
A few months later, it feels like the time for Dubas to intensify those talks.
Both players should command a significant return, perhaps a first-round pick or a top-level prospect. They also would clear considerable salary cap space two or three years from now.
What the Penguins need is star power. The three best ways to acquire star power are:
Using first-round draft picks
Landing top prospects
Having an enormous amount of salary cap space
That’s it. That’s the list. Those are the ways you land stars.
Rust and Rakell leaving the Penguins via trade would give the Penguins a combination of all three of those attributes. If you’re Dubas, you’ve got to give yourself every chance possible to land impactful, potential star players. The more chances you give yourself, the more likely it becomes that you land star power.
Gavin McKenna? Hey, it could happen, and the 2026 draft’s top prospect would change everything in a heartbeat. Keeping Rust and Rakell around won’t help the Penguins land hockey’s biggest prize since Connor McDavid.
Rust and Rakell are good soldiers, and losing them would stink. Losing Rust, in particular, would be a bitter pill to swallow for Penguins fans. Rebuilding stinks, but the better you rebuild, the more roses there are to smell on the other side.
Moving Rust and Rakell will help the Penguins get there faster, and Dubas has to know this. I expect both to be traded at some point in the next eight months. It’s the right thing to do.
Everything Dubas has engineered during this 18-month rebuild has been handled very well. Now comes one of the hardest parts — and it’s becoming increasingly clear that the real challenge isn’t deciding to trade Rust and Rakell, but pulling off the kind of deals that elevate the Penguins’ prospect pool from ordinary to something far more promising.
(Photo of Bryan Rust: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)