The Pittsburgh Penguins still need a scoring boost in their bottom six, and Bryan Rust might be the right answer.

The Pittsburgh Penguins are in an interesting spot in their offseason; they’ve made their big splash and are prepping for training camp, but more moves might be on the horizon.

It’s been one of the busiest summers in Penguins’ history with the hiring of a new president and general manager in Kyle Dubas and watching him work magic in adjusting the roster.

Despite the addition of Erik Karlsson, Dubas might not be done just yet.

The Penguins have rumored to be in on free agent forward Tomas Tatar, who would not only fill in for the injured Jake Guentzel to start the year, but help boost the bottom-six forward by proxy.

If Tatar finds his way to Pittsburgh, and once Guentzel returns from his lower-body injury, head coach Mike Sullivan would have to do some line shuffling.

Through these adjustments, Bryan Rust might find his way to a third-line role, and that might be a perfect spot for him.

Rust is coming off of a lackluster season that saw him put up 46 points in 81 games, all while sitting on the top two lines.

For a team trying to contend and find their way back in the race for the Stanley Cup, that they need far more from an integral piece like Rust.

While Rust could, and should, have a resurgence in 2023-24, his skill might be most suited with the new structure of the Penguins’ bottom-six.

Dubas worked hard to completely revamp the bottom two forward lines, but not much emphasis was put on offense.

Sending Rust to the third line would not only showcase what he brings defensively, but also force him to be the go-to scorer for the depth.

46 points wasn’t enough for the top six, but it was still sixth in Penguins’ scoring in 2022-23, and far more than any of the current bottom-six forwards produced last year.

Everyone knows Rust has more to give and needs to find his way back being a legitimate scoring threat, the third line might be the perfect place for it.

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