Rust Hopes to Keep Adding Chapters to His Incredible Story in Pittsburgh

In the middle of talking about his own contract situation, Evgeni Malkin - unprompted -mentioned another notable pending unrestricted free agent on the Penguins roster.
"I hope Bryan Rust signs here," Malkin said. "He's an amazing player."
With an amazing story
.

It started with the winger as a marathon prospect after being drafted by the Penguins in the third round back in 2010. Rust then came up as one of the young guys who became key contributors to their back-to-back Stanley Cup runs in 2016 and '17.
Along the way, he transformed himself from a versatile bottom-six energy guy to an elite top-six offensive winger, with Mike Sullivan saying on numerous occasions that he's never seen a player develop his game as much as Rust has.
"It's unbelievable," said Jason Zucker, who's known Rust for a long time, as they were at the USNTDP from 2008-10. "He's a guy where you always want him around. He's one of those guys that helps the team in every way off ice, on ice, but his story is incredible. In juniors, he was our penalty kill, third/fourth-line guy... To see the player that he's turned into is incredible."
Rust, who turned 30 on May 11, just finished the final season of his four-year contract having eclipsed the 20-goal plateau for a third-straight campaign. His 156 points (73G-83A) in 171 games over that same time span is surpassed by only Sidney Crosby (193), Jake Guentzel (184) and Kris Letang (157).
"You look at the experience that he's gathered now, he's not where he was coming in when we were making a couple of runs in a row," Crosby said. "He's a guy who's played in a lot of different situations, a lot of big games and shown that he can come up big. I think that he's just an all-around player, and somebody that's kind of improved in every area, really, since he got in the league."
Something else the Penguins head coach often mentions is the culture of excellence that has been established by the core leadership trio of Crosby, Malkin and Letang. Sullivan feels that Rust is someone who has helped maintain that, saying that he has really evolved with his own leadership skills.
"Rusty is one of those guys that I think not only benefited from that culture, but also has started to share in that responsibility of making sure that we all live up to the standard of excellence that's been created here," Sullivan said. "So that's what he means, I think, to our organization. He's a very good player. He had a terrific year for us. He's been a valuable part of this organization."
He's grown and matured just as much off the ice, getting married to his wife Kelsey in the summer of 2019, with the couple welcoming son Hunter in June of 2021. And when Rust thinks about their future, it has to be somewhere they feel comfortable and happy - which is absolutely the case here in Pittsburgh.
"I'd love to return to the team," Rust said. "I obviously love it here. Pittsburgh is a place that I've been for a while, and it's a place that I've had a lot of memories and started my family here and all that stuff. So this place holds a special place in my heart. I'd obviously like to make something work to come back here."

Family is the No. 1 priority for Rust. From there, it's about getting to a point where Rust feels he's given what he's earned and what he's worth. Rust was on his entry-level contract when helping the Penguins win their consecutive championships, and from there, his four-year deal had an average annual value of $3.5 million - which turned out to be an absolute steal.
"I think I've played to a higher level than what my contract has said the last few years, and I think moving forward, just getting something that's fair and can benefit me and my family," Rust said.
That number may look different here in Pittsburgh than it does elsewhere, as another good point Malkin made is that is that so many guys want to stay with the Penguins because it's such a world-class organization. As Rust put it with a smile, he's not looking to rob anyone.
"I just want what I deem is fair and a reasonable contract," Rust said. "I'd like to think something is going to get worked out here."
And so do the rest of his teammates.
"He's an unbelievable guy, and he's done a lot for this organization, too," defenseman Chad Ruhwedel said. "Big-game player, really good on both sides of the puck. Optimistic that we're going to have him back, and definitely want him back, that's for sure."