Confirmed with Link: Bryan Rust re-signs 5.125 AAV (6 years)

[nohero]

I think a lot of people are forgetting how unreasonable desperate teams and desperate GMs can be during free agency. Zach Hyman was a 28yo LW last year and got 7 years at 5.5 with slightly worse stats than Rust... and no playoff success on his resume. Edmonton might even still be happy with this deal, he had a career year!

My opinion is that a 30yo Rust with cups and big game playoff performances under his belt and a steady incline in production in recent years can get over 6x6 in the UFA market (6x6 comparable to 5.5x7) probably on a pretty good team or up to 7x7 on a really desperate team if it doesn't matter to him where he plays. Not saying he's worth that, don't get me wrong. Just saying if all he cares about is the money then I think 7x7 or 7x6 would be out there if his agent his worth his salt. What people make in the UFA market hasn't exactly ever been what the players are worth...

 

[Pens x]

Ohhhh.....so Sleepy has a sense of humour.....

Someone coached Ron before the press conference. I guess the media person picked Sleepy’s Matt Lauer like lock and told him to mention Rust’s kid.

 

[Night Shift]

Ohhhh.....so Sleepy has a sense of humour.....

 

[cygnus47]

We won't surprise in a welcome way within 3-4 years. We're going to suck. HARD.

I do appreciate your optimism though

Surprise to me would be if we make the playoffs, especially if we lose Letang soooo

 

[jmelm]

Surprise to me would be if we make the playoffs, especially if we lose Letang soooo

Oh, if we lose Letang we’re f**ked.

Proper f**ked.

 

[cygnus47]

Oh, if we lose Letang we’re f**ked.

Proper f**ked.

Even next year imo

 

[JTG]

There is exactly zero chance Rust left 10 million dollars on the table. None. People have always had exaggerated expectations for what his market is. He took a small discount, not much. We tacked on 2 years other teams wouldn’t have given him to get average down. His agent knows the market and so does Hextall.

I disagree, and the FA market of the past would disagree with you also. Players like Rust who brings what he does don't come available very often - PPG player, plays in all situations, has been on Cup winning teams. The only downside is he has had some injury issues. I could absolutely see a team throwing caution to the wind and giving him 7x7, especially if a few teams wanted him. Rust clearly wanted to stay in Pittsburgh and he wanted to get a deal done before he left for summer. There was absolutely no benefit of him signing right now except for the peace of mind that it was over with and he could focus on the offseason.

Oh, if we lose Letang we’re f**ked.

Proper f**ked.

They would have to sign Klingberg. There isn't another player that could replace Letang's production, and Klingberg is going to cost way more than Letang.

 

[jmelm]

They would have to sign Klingberg. There isn't another player that could replace Letang's production, and Klingberg is going to cost way more than Letang.

Yes, he will cost more and he's also WAY worse defensively. Klingberg is a fine 2nd pairing guy if you can insulate him with a strong stay at home guy, and is a great offensive Dman. I like him as a player, but he's nowhere close to Kris Letang's overall game.

So yeah, that's what I call paying more for less. Let's just sign Kris. I'm sure he'll settle for 4 years instead of 5, and that should bring the AAV down enough. 4 x 7 (or 7.25 if necessary); or 5 years x 6.5 front loaded to bring the AAV down.

p.s. and by the time Letang's 4th or 5th year come around, Burkie and Sleepy will be long gone, so they don't need to worry about covering their ass if it goes south.

 

[eXile3]

I disagree, and the FA market of the past would disagree with you also. Players like Rust who brings what he does don't come available very often - PPG player, plays in all situations, has been on Cup winning teams. The only downside is he has had some injury issues. I could absolutely see a team throwing caution to the wind and giving him 7x7, especially if a few teams wanted him. Rust clearly wanted to stay in Pittsburgh and he wanted to get a deal done before he left for summer. There was absolutely no benefit of him signing right now except for the peace of mind that it was over with and he could focus on the offseason.



They would have to sign Klingberg. There isn't another player that could replace Letang's production, and Klingberg is going to cost way more than Letang.

Rust has been a PPG player once in his career. I do agree the he probably left a chunk of money by not going to UFA. GM's are idiots and would have thrown money at him.

 

[jmelm]

Even next year imo

Oh yeah, as soon as next year. If we lose Letang and don't replace him, we're not a playoff team unless Jarry pulls a Hasek.

 

[Gurglesons]

Oh yeah, as soon as next year. If we lose Letang and don't replace him, we're not a playoff team unless Jarry pulls a Hasek.

Who do you think makes it over us and who else doesn’t fall out?

 

[Night Shift]

Who do you think makes it over us and who else doesn’t fall out?

Good point. I like the Devils chances next year (Idk why) Isles will be back and Buffalo is long overdue.

 

[Gurglesons]

Good point. I like the Devils chances next year (Idk why) Isles will be back and Buffalo is long overdue.

So you think the Caps and Boston make it over us and one of those or all fall out?

 

[ChaosAgent]

Who do you think makes it over us and who else doesn’t fall out?

The Isles 100%.

I could see Buffalo leaping to respectability next year.

Washington probably succumbs before us though.

 

[Night Shift]

So you think the Caps and Boston make it over us and one of those or all fall out?

I think Boston misses. I don't think us or the Caps will. Some of the teams I mentioned I think they will be better next year.

 

[ChaosAgent]

The Devils have a huge amount of cap space next year.

Feel like they could be in play for a lot of things, maybe even swinging a Marner trade if he hits the market.

 

[Gurglesons]

The Isles 100%.

I could see Buffalo leaping to respectability next year.

Washington probably succumbs before us though.

Why do you think the Isles make it 100%? How is their roster any better than ours even without Letang and Malkin?

 

[ChaosAgent]

Why do you think the Isles make it 100%? How is their roster any better than ours even without Letang and Malkin?

They started 8-17 and then got it to 35-39 before being eliminated and taking their foot off the gas/trying to fire Trotz.

I guess there are a few too many underwhelming $4-$6M players but I don't think they'd struggle to move Bailey, Pageau or Palmeiri if needed.

 

[Gurglesons]

They started 8-17 and then got it to 35-39 before being eliminated and taking their foot off the gas/trying to fire Trotz.

I guess there are a few too many underwhelming $4-$6M players but I don't think they'd struggle to move Bailey, Pageau or Palmeiri if needed.

If we have to pay to move Zucker, Isles are paying a 1st to move that Palmieri deal.

Isles are a shitty team that has had to peel away huge pieces to their success due to horrible cap management by Lou. They look a lot like the 2012-13 Devils IMO.

 

[Jacob]

Loucels like to pretend his success is due to culture and haircuts but it’s about selling the future and giving out bad deals.

 

[cygnus47]

Who do you think makes it over us and who else doesn’t fall out?

Losing Letang would be massive. We lose Letang, we're down to one guy that can carry the puck and he's way riskier. IMO Crosby, Rust, Guentzel lose 15 points each without Letang unless our PP takes a huge step. Crosby and Malkin both decline. Jarry could improve subjectively and still end up with a worse season. Not many goalies repeat .919 year after year. 15-20 goals fewer scored and 10 more allowed changes a lot of this year's results. Our system is hard for unskilled guys to generate offense in, it may be fairly consistent defensively but our offense is a house of cards.

I think there's a much more spread out bubble of borderline teams rather than the clean break there was this year. Basically every team that missed in the East other than maybe NYI is likely to improve and get more points next year. We won't go 4-0 against CBJ, 2-0 against STL, 3-1 against PHI. We lose 4 or 5 more and we're back in the low 90s, NJD, PHI, BUF and DET could all take a big step, and CBJ could make a small one and we're on the outside looking in.

 

[jmelm]

Who do you think makes it over us and who else doesn’t fall out?

Well obviously NYI is a serious contender to make the playoffs and theyre going to make some moves.

BUF and OTT are going to be making a charge next year and I expect both will take a BIG step forward. Both will be very active in trying to improve their goaltending via the available UFAs, as will NJ.

I also expect the Devils to take a big step forward. They will figure out their goaltending, either by winning one of the big 3 UFAs (Husso/Kuemper/Campbell sweepstakes) or maybe Blackwood gets things back on track, etc. They have a ton of cap room and will be aggressive in UFA, as will BUF.

Also, if the Devils draft Slafkovsky (which they will if MTL doesn't take him), this kid will step in next year and score 20G IMO. Or maybe they'll trade the pick for Timo Meier -- or they'll keep the pick, take Slafkovsky, and put together another package (Alex Holtz +) for Kevin Fiala, who they have been linked to as the most likely trade parter, to pla with fellow countryman Hischier.

I'm not a believer in DET or CLB taking a step just yet -- I think they're an extra 1-2 years away -- unless they add a big time player or two in UFA (DET has been linked to Forsberg and Kadri, should the former hit the market).

I believe we can make the playoffs without Malkin if we sign Letang + Rakell and make some other moves to shore up our bottom 6. But if we lose Letang, and think the trio of Marino, Friedman and Ruhwedel is going to get it done, then it's going to be pretty damn ugly. Even if we limped into the playoffs somehow, we don't have a prayer. This isn't like St. Louis when they lost Pietrangelo, but had Parayko & Faulk to step in. We need Letang more than Geno, there's no doubt about it.

 

[Gurglesons]

Well obviously NYI is a serious contender to make the playoffs and theyre going to make some moves.

BUF and OTT are going to be making a charge next year and I expect both will take a BIG step forward. Both will be very active in trying to improve their goaltending via the available UFAs, as will NJ.

I also expect the Devils to take a big step forward. They will figure out their goaltending, either by winning one of the big 3 UFAs (Husso/Kuemper/Campbell sweepstakes) or maybe Blackwood gets things back on track, etc. They have a ton of cap room and will be aggressive in UFA, as will BUF.

Also, if the Devils draft Slafkovsky (which they will if MTL doesn't take him), this kid will step in next year and score 20G IMO. Or maybe they'll trade the pick for Timo Meier -- or they'll keep the pick, take Slafkovsky, and put together another package (Alex Holtz +) for Kevin Fiala, who they have been linked to as the most likely trade parter, to pla with fellow countryman Hischier.

I'm not a believer in DET or CLB taking a step just yet -- I think they're an extra 1-2 years away -- unless they add a big time player or two in UFA (DET has been linked to Forsberg and Kadri, should the former hit the market).

I believe we can make the playoffs without Malkin if we sign Letang + Rakell and make some other moves to shore up our bottom 6. But if we lose Letang, and think the trio of Marino, Friedman and Ruhwedel is going to get it done, then it's going to be pretty damn ugly. Even if we limped into the playoffs somehow, we don't have a prayer. This isn't like St. Louis when they lost Pietrangelo, but had Parayko & Faulk to step in. We need Letang more than Geno, there's no doubt about it.

Matheson still plays for us.

We will see what Buffalo and Ottawa actually do. Either way, I think WAS misses. Boston misses if Bergeron doesn’t come
back. I do not see the Isles being anywhere close to a playoff team. Maybe if they make some moves, but curious how they get cap unless they move out Varly.

 

[jmelm]

Matheson still plays for us.

Yup, good player. Like him a lot. He's also one guy the last time I checked.

He's also not a #1 Dman the last time I checked.

And last time I checked, we need 6 Dman.

And I'm not moving Matheson off of LD and putting him on RD and just hoping for the best.

Who the hell is going to form our top pair if Letang is gone? POJ + a Unicorn from a fairy tale?

I like to think I'm more open minded than most about who we would pair with Letang -- Matheson even (they're bound to get better if they play together more often), Pettersson (he took a step late this year), heck even Dumo if we're not using his cap savings to spend on any other players (no point trading him unless we're making use of that cap space).

Doesn't make sense to let our #1 Dman (and the player who should finish 4th or 5th in Norris voting this year) and one of the true legit #1 Dmen in the league go with no replacement.

 

[Gurglesons]

Yup, good player. Like him a lot. He's also one guy the last time I checked.

He's also not a #1 Dman the last time I checked.

And last time I checked, we need 6 Dman.

And I'm not moving Matheson off of LD and putting him on RD and just hoping for the best.

Who the hell is going to form our top pair if Letang is gone? POJ + a Unicorn from a fairy tale?

I like to think I'm more open minded than most about who we would pair with Letang -- Matheson even (they're bound to get better if they play together more often), Pettersson (he took a step late this year), heck even Dumo if we're not using his cap savings to spend on any other players (no point trading him unless we're making use of that cap space).

Doesn't make sense to let our #1 Dman (and the player who should finish 4th or 5th in Norris voting this year) and one of the true legit #1 Dmen in the league go with no replacement.

I’ve already stated if Letang walks I’m bringing Petry or Burns in on the cheap. I doubt the difference would be as much as everyone is saying.