Of the Penguins' big three unrestricted free agents entering this offseason -- Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Bryan Rust -- there was a time when it seemed like Rust would be the most likely of the bunch to be lost to free agency.
Rust, 30, was coming off of a career season, having scored 24 goals and 34 assists in 60 games. He was due for a substantial raise on his expiring $3.5 million salary, with projections for a new deal including a salary north of $7 million. There was thought that Rust's hometown Red Wings would be a likely destination, given Detroit's ample cap space.
In the end, Rust ended up being Ron Hextall's first priority this offseason. The Penguins and Rust agreed on Saturday to a six-year contract worth $30.75 million. That's an average annual value of $5.125 million, significantly lower than Rust likely could have attracted on the open market.
There was never any real danger of Rust testing that free agent market. I asked Rust on Sunday if it was anything he had actually given real consideration, and while he and his agent did have initial talks on what he might be able to receive on the open market, his priority was always staying put in Pittsburgh.
"There's things you may sacrifice," Rust said about that decision. "Obviously, there were conversations between my agent and I about what could possibly be out there and where and all that stuff, logistics in conversations that were had. But I think where we came to a settling point was definitely somewhere where we could be happy with the deal that can be done. Who knows what else could have been out there, but we're definitely happy with the deal that was done, and we couldn't be happier that we're staying in Pittsburgh."
Rust's priority for this new deal was the length of the contract, seeking the security that comes with a six-year deal. And his priority was getting those six years with the Penguins, even if he admittedly took less money to make that happen.
"I think our mindset was getting something done in Pittsburgh," he said. "If there was a little bit of a discount taken, I guess there could have been. But we're happy here. This is a number that we're really happy with."
Pittsburgh just makes sense for Rust and his family. Rust's own family isn't far away in Pontiac, Mich., and his wife Kelsey's family is also relatively close in Echo Bay, Ontario. Both of their families are able to make trips out to Pittsburgh to visit them and their son, Hunter. Pittsburgh is where Rust and his wife first met, after Kelsey moved to Pittsburgh when she was the nanny for Trevor Daley's family.
"This is where we had a son, this place is near and dear to our heart," Rust said. "And I think we have to continue to grow those away-from-the-rink memories as well as trying to make some more memories at the rink."
When it comes to those memories at the rink, Rust couldn't say enough about the way the Penguins organization has treated him and other players since he was drafted 12 years ago.
"The staff, the owners, management, players, coaches, I think everybody does such a good job of making Pittsburgh an unbelievable place to play," he said. "We get treated so well, we get pretty much everything that we could want. The facilities are fantastic. All that is above and beyond, I couldn't say any better things about the organization. That definitely played a big factor."
Negotiations came together rather quickly once serious talks between the two sides began. Rust said in Tuesday's cleanout day that he had yet to have "amplified" talks yet regarding an extension. Serious negotiations took place on Friday, then took a brief pause early in the day Saturday as Rust had more important matters to attend to. Rust and Kelsey celebrated their son Hunter's first birthday party, with a contingent of family and friends in town for the occasion. Once the birthday celebrations settled down in the evening, Rust and his agent finalized the deal with the Penguins.
"It quickly turned from the first birthday party into the celebratory party," Rust said. "We kind of took that and ran with it."
Rust said that he doesn't have a sense of where things stand with Malkin and Letang and their contract talks, he hasn't had conversations with either player regarding their own potential extensions. But it's no surprise that he'd like to see them back in Pittsburgh as well next season.
"I would love to have those guys around, those guys have become two good friends of mine, teammates for a long time, I love those guys," he said. "As a player on this team, I think we'd obviously love to have those two guys back, they're two unbelievable players, two probable Hall of Famers."
Rust, after taking a hometown discount to remain in the only place he ever really wanted to be, is hoping that he's made it that much easier to keep Malkin and Letang in Pittsburgh.
"I think if (the discount) helps out some other guys that would like to be here and like the chance to win with this team, I think that's awesome," he said.
