Penguins A to Z: Always selfless, Bryan Rust has become invaluable

As the NHL prepares for a new season scheduled to start in mid-January, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 48 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Bryan Rust

Position: Right winger

Shoots: Right

Age: 28

Height: 5-foot-11

Weight: 192 pounds

2019-20 NHL statistics: 55 games, 56 points (27 goals, 29 assists)

Contract: Third year of a four-year contract with a salary cap hit of $3.5 million. Pending unrestricted free agent in 2022.

Acquired: Draft, third round (No. 80 overall), June 26, 2010

Last season: Bryan Rust almost seemed insulted by the question.

In the Penguins’ final game of the 2019 preseason, he suffered a right hand injury when he leaned down to block a shot.

Why would he put his body in danger during a meaningless contest just as the regular season was about to begin?

The ailment resulting from that selfless act forced him to miss most of the first month of the 2019-20 campaign.

Rust’s retort, following a practice in Dallas on Oct. 25, was pretty direct.

“I blocked the shot, didn’t I?”

Roughly 24 hours later, when he made his season debut, Rust offered direct evidence of his value to the team by scoring in a 3-0 road win against the Dallas Stars.

That would be the first of a career-best and team-leading 27 goals Rust collected. Having always flirted with the possibility of reaching that 20-goal barrier, Rust crashed through it despite being limited due to his own injury as well as the league-wide shutdown in March because of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rust collected his goals in all sorts of fashions as well. His 18 goals at even-strength and eight on the power play were each tops on the team. Rust also added one short-handed score.

Additionally, he was second on the squad with four game-winning goals.

Rust’s rise in offense did not come at the sacrifice of his overall play either. As dutiful of a 200-foot player as the Penguins have, he is one of their regulars on the penalty kill.

Skating on the right wing of the second line with center Evgeni Malkin for most of the regular season, Rust was entrenched in that role during the Penguins’ four-game postseason and contributed three points (one goal, two assists).

The future: Rust is once again skating with Malkin as well as Jason Zucker at left wing during the team’s training camp. The alchemy Malkin and Rust developed last season is something the coaching staff seems hesitant to tinker with and will try to keep those two bolted on to one another as conditions permit.

But given the extraordinary conditions this season will take on in the midst of a global pandemic, the Penguins, like all teams, are bound to be missing players on a regular basis due to medical concerns. Given Rust’s ability to skate on either wing and his history of contributing on all four lines, he may very well be asked to move up and down the lineup this season.

In addition to receiving a plum assignment on the second line, Rust has also been working on the left wall of the top power-play unit. Ever since the departure of forward Phil Kessel in the 2019 offseason, the Penguins have struggled to find a right-hand shot they are comfortable with for that role, partly due to injuries but also due to overall inconsistency. Rust filled that spot on occasion in 2019-20, but with mixed results.

One of the faster players on the roster, Rust also figures to once again be among team’s top penalty killing forwards in 2020-21.

Always one of the team’s most selfless players, Rust is now one of its most valuable.

Follow the Penguins all season long.