Penguins Update: Jake of All Trades?

With Sidney Crosby and his fellow NHL stars poised to shine at the All-Star Game in Toronto this evening, the pre-trade deadline winds have already begun to blow.

Per his usual, former Penguins GM and current Canucks POHO Jim Rutherford got the jump on the competition by acquiring center Elias Lindholm from the Flames for winger Andrei Kuzmenko, first and fourth-round picks in the 2024 draft, and a pair of defensive prospects.

Not to be upstaged, the surprising Jets pulled off a pre-deadline blockbuster of their own, acquiring center (and former Flame) Sean Monahan from the Canadiens for 2024 first-rounder and a third-round pick in 2027.

With two of the top names already off the table, the focus on the Pens’ Jake Guentzel is likely to intensify. Indeed, with the NHL trade deadline looming, contract talks have heated up. According to a report by former-NHLer Nick Kypreos, Jake and agent Ben Hankinson have nixed a $51 million dollar, six-year extension worth roughly $8.5 million per.

Term would appear to be a sticking point. Jake is rumored to be seeking an eight-year deal, which would stretch until age 37.

Yikes.

I feel for Kyle Dubas. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place. It would appear Jake and his agent have our POHO/GM over a barrel.

On one hand, it’s almost impossible to imagine the Pens and…specifically…Crosby without Jake. They blend so well together, truly like peas and carrots or peanut-butter and jelly, take your pick. The black-and-gold version of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid on skates, not to mention one of the most prolific scoring duos in franchise history.

If we’re to have any hope of qualifying for the postseason, keeping Guentzel is a must.

But eight years? Man, that’s a lot of term to swallow, even for a player of Jake’s quality, productivity and overall importance. Especially for a team that’s already saddled with a slew of pricey, long-term contracts laced with no movement clauses.

Still, if Dubas elects to deal the Omaha native, there’s no guarantee we’ll receive anything approaching equal value in return. Everyone oohs and ahs at the thought of securing a first-round pick. However, as Hooks Orpik of Pensburgh so eloquently detailed in his recent article, The plight of the sellers at the NHL trade deadline, unless that pick is say…a top ten or maybe fifteen…there’s no guarantee it’ll translate into an impact player. Part of the reason the Pens have staunchly resisted a teardown.

However, if we’re out of playoff range come the deadline and Jake remains unsigned, you almost have to deal him.

Again, I don’t envy Dubas.

A Plug for the Rusty Razor

While Guentzel is garnering most of the media attention, and rightfully so, there’s another former third-pick of the Pens I’d like to draw attention to.

Bryan Rust was featured in a really heart-warming article by Seth Rorabaugh on the Trib today. I thought it was high-time I shined a little spotlight on him, too.

Although Rust skates mostly in the shadow of his more famous frequent linemates, that doesn’t lessen his value to the team in the least. The quintessential heart-and-soul player and in many ways a modern-day Rudy, he was projected to be a bottom-six energy player when drafted 80^th overall from Notre Dame back in 2010. A role he filled to perfection during our back-to-back Cup seasons.

However, even then Rust displayed a penchant for scoring important goals. Who can forget his enormously clutch two-goal effort in Game 7 against Tampa Bay in 2016 to propel us into the Cup Final? Or his series winner in Game 7 the following spring against the Caps to clinch a desperately fought series?

Shades of Max Talbot.

Since then he’s morphed from a Swiss-Army knife type energy player into a consistent top-six scorer with four consecutive 20-goal seasons to his credit.

Following an electric start to the season (10 goals in his first 18 games), Rusty’s cooled a bit since coming back from injury (a goal and seven points in his past 11 games) while flopping between lines. However, he’s always been a bit of a streaky scorer. Remember his Mario-esque tear in January 2022 when he piled up seven goals and 11 points in three games after coming back from injury?

Here’s hoping the hustling winger heats up again. We’re gonna need him if we’re to make the postseason.

He’s Doggone Good

I’ve discovered a potential low-cost addition for our Pens.

His name is Zeus (nickname Zeusie). He’s a four-year-old pitbull, which makes him 28-years-old in people years. Right in his prime. Eighty pounds of solid, four-legged muscle. Trains by dragging his Uncle Ricky for walks around Pennsbury Village.

Okay, so maybe Zeusie isn’t much on skating and stickhandling. But much like the aforementioned Rust, he’ll purse the biscuit with dogged tenacity. Once he gets paws on puck…or better yet…sinks his teeth into the rubber? It’s impossible to pry it off him (unless you give him a treat).

Talk about puck possession!

And just try messing with one of his teammates. Although friendly and sweet by nature, Zeusie won’t hesitate to put the bite on a miscreant.

Best of all, he won’t count against the salary cap. He’ll play for Milk Bones and Beggin’ Strips (original bacon flavor), with the occasional squeaky toy thrown in.

Yes, I’m a silly man.