The Penguins have a lot of unknown variables ahead of them. While the status of Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang loom very large, it shouldn’t be ignored that Bryan Rust has almost certainly priced himself out of Pittsburgh’s salary cap structure. The Pens really just can’t afford to pay wingers as much as Rust can command on the precipice of free agency, considering that he’s been at or near a point per game production rate over the last three seasons and will be hitting the open market.
While Rickard Rakell could (and should!) be an option to return, the trade deadline pickup is also heading towards unrestricted free agency.