As the Penguins face a longer offseason than they’ve grown accustomed to, a pair of needs have bubbled to the surface for general manager Jim Rutherford.
They include getting more balanced production from all four lines and adding a defenseman — ideally right-handed — to bolster their third pairing.
Meanwhile, in an interview with the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Monday morning, Rutherford said he’d like to complete a contract extension of some sort with Bryan Rust this summer, provided the salary cap affords the Penguins the flexibility to do it.
“I think we will probably look at getting a little more balance throughout the whole lineup,” Rutherford said.