Pittsburgh Penguins Hit With Crushing Injury News for Bryan Rust: May Screw Them Over in Trade

The Pittsburgh Penguins 2025/26 campaign may not be the most successful one in franchise history, but given the potential trade pieces that they have, it's safe to say that they could set themselves up for success with some big moves.

For the most part, the trade speculation surrounding the Penguins involves Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell and Erik Karlsson, but with whispers growing around Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, there could be some big changes on the way.

It's the first three that are most likely to be moved, and despite Bryan Rust's loyalty to the Penguins, all signs now point to the veteran being open to a trade that sees him leave Pittsburgh for the first time in his NHL career.

However, an injury setback in the pre-season has now forced the team to consider him week-to-week, and given how aggressive some teams want to be in making trades early in the year, this could hamper his value league wide.

According to the team, Rust will miss a minimum of two weeks, and while he's likely to get back to 100% early in the year, having any of their veteran trade candidates miss time isn't ideal for the Penguins.

The one thing this injury does do that may help Pittsburgh is open a spot, likely for standout prospect Avery Hayes, who has been pushing for a spot on the opening night roster already, but for now, Penguins fans will simply be hoping that Rust can get back to 100%, whether that be to trade him or have him contributing once more.