NHL Insider Says Red Wings Leading Race to Land Penguins' Rust

Insider reports indicate the Red Wings being the top contender to land Penguins winger Bryan Rust.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are reportedly selling off what they can from the roster with the only exception being longtime captain Sidney Crosby. One of the teams most valuable assets is winger Bryan Rust.

The 33-year-old Michigan native has been a consistent 55-60 point producer and has worked as a top line winger for the Penguins during their dominant run to back-to-back Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. 

Detroit is in need of a top-six forward to play alongside Dylan Larkin and Lucas Raymond with Rust being the possible answer. Early trade chatter has already linked both teams with the Red Wings currently sitting as the top contenders to land Rust, according to Bleacher Report's Adam Gretz.

Bryan Rust has been the subject of trade rumors, and @AGretz has a list of possible landing spots for the Penguins forward 👀

Full list: https://t.co/pC1FBgB3P8pic.twitter.com/YDhkIFgtCm

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) July 21, 2025

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Rust is a right-shot winger that has been known to have played both sides of the ice. He could be thrown into a favorable position, similar to his one in Pittsburgh playing with Sidney Crosby, with two elite forwards that can dish him the puck. The homecoming for a kid out of Pontiac would be a great one as Rust grew up being a Red Wings fan. 

He is coming off a career-best 65 point season, including 31 goals and 34 assists. Over the past two seasons, Rust has developed into a top end forward, averaging just short of 20 minutes a night and posting a 0.91 point-per-game average with 121 through 133 games. His average outranks big name wingers like Matt Boldy, Martin Necas and Seth Jarvis. 

Rust would be a welcomed addition to a Red Wings lineup on the rise and could add much needed scoring after they finished bottom 11 in offence last season. The move would likely include prospects which the Red Wings have plenty of and due to Rust's age that would limit his years in Detroit would likely mean a return package not being overly damaging to the Red Wings prospect pool.

Could Detroit's Carter Mazur Get a Top Six Role?The Red Wings could follow the path of other contenders and use young talent in top six roles.

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