Imminency Of Rust's Return Shows Too Much 'Depth' Becoming Problem For Penguins

It's no secret that the Pittsburgh Penguins face some difficult roster decisions in the coming days. 

And with forward Bryan Rust a full participant in Tuesday's practice - including in line rushes and on special teams units - it appears those decisions may come faster than they're necessarily ready for. 

Rust, 34, missed the first three games of the season with a lower-body injury and is currently on injured reserve. In order for Rust to play Wednesday against the Washington Capitals - his status for that game is still unknown - a roster move would have to be made.

The Penguins' active roster is currently capped at 23 players, and the only players ineligible for waivers on the roster are forward Ben Kindel and goaltender Sergei Murashov.

For obvious reasons - chief among them the Penguins needing two goaltenders - Murashov is not going anywhere. And, for equally obvious reasons, Kindel isn't going anywhere, either, given that the only option for him would be the WHL and that, at 19, he's easily one of their best players already.

So, the Penguins are left with three options for Wednesday's game now that 2:00 p.m. ET Monday has passed and regular waivers, with the 24-hour period, is no longer an option:

     1. Rust does not play against Washington and is, therefore, not activated 
     2. A player is designated injured reserve and/or non-roster (non-roster for the purpose of waivers) before Wednesday's game to clear up a roster spot
     3. A player is traded before Wednesday's game

During Tuesday's practice, Rust was taking line rushes and special teams reps. So was Ville Koivunen. It appears that both may be slated for the lineup on Wednesday, even if Koivunen's eight-year contract might make him more waivers-proof. The Penguins are impressed with Koivunen so far, and at the end of the day, there is still inherent risk of losing a young player with upside if he is put on non-roster waivers.

Head coach Dan Muse was singing Koivunen's praises after practice as well, as he is impressed with the young forward's output so far. And deciding to scratch him against the Montreal Canadiens Saturday was a tough call. 

"He's played well," Muse said. "Honestly, I think, for him, coming off of that Philly game, I can't really think of a harder conversation that I've had to have, in recent memory at least. And it's not just that one game, I mean, it was probably equally as hard with Hallander coming out of the last one. 

"But, Ville put in the work this summer. I mean, you go back to that last exhibition game, he scores a breakaway goal there in Philly, he has an assist last night, he's making plays, he's stronger, he's done the things that were asked of him, and he's produced on the ice. So, it's a credit to him in the work that he's put in. It's good to see."

So, who does that leave?

Elmer Soderblom, 25, was in the lineup against the Philadelphia Flyers in game one, and he has been scratched ever since. Filip Hallander, 26, found himself in the press box during Monday's 3-2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets despite having a goal and three points in two games to start the season. Andrei Kuzmenko, 30, has played in two games since returning from Russia to attend his father's funeral, and he has had little time to acclimate to his new team because he missed the end of the pre-season, too.  

Who goes? It's truly not an easy question to answer, as every forward on the roster has actually earned playing time. Sure, the Penguins could take a risk and waive defenseman Ilya Solovyov, but it's highly unlikely that they'd elect to carry six defensemen only to kick the can down the road as far as roster decisions on forwards. 

Even though Muse confirmed a rotation of sorts for now, a continuous lineup rotation is not going to work long-term. Eventually, guys will need to be rewarded for earning their spots on the roster and in the lineup, and with this many actually deserving players in the mix, that's simply not going to happen without some roster movement. 

There is a difference between players being put in the lineup and not actually earning anything versus being put in the lineup, earning more playing time, and still being unable to get it because of a situation that is simply too crowded. 

That crowding could lead to frustration for young players who feel like they've earned opportunities. To sentiments of feeling stuck. To young players feeling like they have to show an unattainably high degree of value to the NHL club in comparison to others with more experience in a similar lineup slot in order to become mainstays.

For guys like Koivunen, Hallander, Soderblom, Nick Robertson, and Hendrix Lapierre, it's fair to suggest they've shown more in a small sample than guys like Connor Dewar, Blake Lizotte, and even Kuzmenko. It also brings into question the decisions to bring back guys like Dewar or sign/trade for guys like Kuzmenko and Lapierre in the first place, especially given the fact that there was already going to be a high level of competition for roster spots among young players and bottom-sixers regardless of their presence or lack of presence.

Now, at the end of the day, it will likely take continuously sour efforts from guys like Dewar and Lizotte for them to even be considered for the press box, whereas staying in the lineup for the other guys would take continuous standout efforts despite the talent level of those guys being similar or better.

"I think we knew we had that depth and guys that we knew would be pushing, so I think it's what you want as a coach," Muse said. "I mean, you go into the year, and you want guys making it hard decisions. You want guys playing to a level where, you know, you're up at night trying to figure out what the decision is going to be.

"I'd much prefer that than everything being obvious and not having a competitive environment."

So, will the Penguins reward players who have actually earned lineup spots by keeping them in the lineup? At what point does the "good problem" of substantial forward depth start to become an actual problem for young players who earn opportunities through performance?

That's the decision the Penguins may be faced with in the next 24 hours. If Rust is ready, and they cannot execute a small-scale trade to get some value for one of their fringe lineup players and give them opportunity elsewhere, they face losing a decent-at-worst young player for nothing on the waiver wire, which isn't great asset management. 

Time, injuries, and opportunity will be telling for the Penguins this season, but given where they are as an organization, they can't afford to fumble their young talent trying to break through the door of opportunity and stay inside the house. 

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