Pittsburgh Penguins' Tough Loss May Force the Management to Make a Trade

It's never a good sign when you lose your top-line forward, especially when he's been integral to your success for the last decade. Pittsburgh is feeling the pain after losing key forward Bryan Rust to an undisclosed injury and will be week-to-week as he recovers.

It's an unfortunate turn of events for the fourth-longest tenured member of the Pittsburgh Penguins who is a key part of their top line alongside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. Since 2019, Rust has turned into a perennial 20-goal scorer and has averaged over 51 points over the last five seasons. He's also been a key factor in their Stanley Cup wins in 2016 and 2017, scoring 18 points in 46 games including a Game 7 winner against the Washington Capitals.

However, the road hasn't been easy, as Rust has been injured numerous times in his career including broken fingers, and various upper and lower body injuries, and has missed over 100 games due to those injuries. With Rust's propensity for being injured so often, Kyle Dubas should think about picking up the phone.

As sad as it is to say, the window of opportunity for Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang to win another Stanley Cup is shrinking. Not just due to the fact that time waits for no one, but the team just isn't who they were a decade ago. Feeling stagnant and unsuccessful in the playoffs since they last won the Cup, Pittsburgh can't afford a setback.

Rust's injury, though fairly standard practice at this point, still hurts Pittsburgh a lot. He's a key playmaker and while Rickard Rakell is a decent replacement;the chemistry with Crosby and Malkin is irreplaceable. They could call up Rutger McGroarty but his time in the NHL wasn't the smoothest. They don't have a great deal of NHL-ready forwards in their system, so perhaps a trade is in the works.

Getting rid of Michael Bunting, who has fallen off a cliff since his time with the Maple Leafs, would give the Penguins room to work with in acquiring a top-line replacement for Rust while out. Warren Foegele comes to mind; he's a cheaper option signed for an additional year and is four years younger. Oh, and he's also played alongside this generation's greatest player, Connor McDavid.

Rust has 200 more points sure, but playing with the greatest player of the last 20 years will have that effect. Foegele could dominate with Crosby and Malkin, providing a huge top line that can effectively control the game alone. Foegele is also three inches taller and 15 pounds heavier, so providing a bigger body adds the intimidation intangible that is crucial for success. Imagining what Foegele can do alongside Crosby and Malkin is tantalizing, but it may be hard to pry him away.

No, we aren't talking about a plunge in the standings (though James Hagens or Porter Martone wouldn't be the worst consolation prize). They need to take a dive into the trade market and do what they can in order to help Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin while their window for winning is still cracked open slightly. Kyle Dubas should work hastily to bring someone in before that window slams shut on the Penguins' hopes for another Stanley Cup with the old boys.