Malkin and Kris Letang are among several high-profile players who are scheduled to hit the open market this summer. Pittsburgh reached the playoffs for the 16th straight season – the longest active streak in major North American sports – but fell in seven games to the New York Rangers in the first round. Rust’s signing is the first domino to fall on what could be a very busy summer for the Penguins. ”His leadership qualities and experience as a two-time Stanley Cup champion is an important piece of our team.” “Bryan exemplifies what it means to be a Pittsburgh Penguin,” Pittsburgh general manager Ron Hextall said in a statement. Rust has 21 goals in 79 career playoff games and he is one of four players in NHL history to have each of their first three game-winning goals in the playoffs clinch series. Rust also served as a vital part of Pittsburgh’s run to consecutive Stanley Cups in 20. Since his arrival, only Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jake Guentzel have scored more for the Penguins than the 124 goals he’s piled up in 424 games. Now he’ll get a raise and stay in a place where he’s been a fixture for the better part of a decade.Ī third-round pick in the 2010 draft, Rust made his NHL debut on Dec. Rust was finishing up a contract that paid him $3.5 million a season. Rust said earlier this week he would prefer to remain in Pittsburgh but added “I’ve played at a higher level than what my contract has said the last few years.” Rust, 30, scored 24 goals to go with a career-best 34 assists this season.īorn in Pontiac and raised in Troy, Bloomfield Hills and Novi, he played three years with Michigan's Honeybaked hockey program and three years with the National Team Development Program which played out of Ann Arbor from 1996-2015. And I think if that helps sign some other guys that would like to be here and would like a chance to win with this team, I think that's awesome.' 'This is a number that we're really happy with. But I think our mindset was getting something done in Pittsburgh and if there was a little bit of it discount taken, I guess there could have been. 'I think for me, term of the contract was important,' Rust told nhl.com on Sunday. The deal, announced on Saturday, carries an average annual value of $5.125 million.

Bryan rust status