The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently in the midst of a tough stretch where they have lost 8 out of their last 9 games and sit 2 points out of a playoff spot with games in hand of the teams in front of them. But their recent struggles are not attributed to one area, but one player does not look like himself.
One of the longest current tenured Penguins outside of the core three, Bryan Rust, has had his struggles this season, especially as of late in this rough stretch. So far this year, Rust has 12 goals and 17 assists in 33 games played for the Penguins.
That may not seem like he's in a rough stretch as of late, but lately whenever he has been on the ice, he has looked lost. Him and Crosby continuing to be on the same line together has not worked out as well as the Penguins have wanted.
The point production for the former Notre Dame product seems to be there on paper, but the guy has been struggling for at least the past week or so. Rust's name has been in trade rumors since the middle of last season, and his name is still out there as of the current moment.
Everyone knows that Rust is from the Detroit area and that he would be a perfect fit if the Red Wings and general manager Steve Yzerman came calling to Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas's phone. But with his recent struggles, he might not be as tradeable as he was this past offseason.
Rust put up over 60 points last season when he was at his peak and if Dubas wanted to capitalize on that, he should have this offseason. But with his recent struggles even though the point totals do not look that bad right now, he might not have a lot of value.
It is being reported that his name is still out there and Dubas set a high price on him. A player of Rust's caliber is always going to have a high price. If he has any value and someone offers a high price, Dubas should accept the offer.
But until then, he does not seem to have much value and should have been traded last offseason. It would make the captain upset if Rust were to go, but if they want to accelerate the rebuild, trading him is the absolute right move.