Key players unprotected
Rutherford declined to comment on any potential deals like that when reached Sunday.
“I think it’s important for us and the league to allow Vegas to make their announcement at the appropriate time,” he said. “I’ll just let that run its course here the next few days.”
But when asked whether he was concerned about losing a player such as Rust — who, as a young, cheap NHLready winger might be the most desirable asset on the Penguins exposed list — Rutherford replied, “Not based on what I know today.”
If the Golden Knights do indeed select Fleury, the rest of the Penguins list is moot, since Vegas can only select one player from each of the other 30 NHL teams.
“There’s a lot of things that could happen. There’s one thing that probably will happen,” Cole said Thursday at the Penguins locker cleanout.
“There’s a lot of things that could happen, and it’s really so far out of our hands, I don’t think that worrying about it or stressing about it is something that will really change the outcome or have any benefit.”
Cole, 28, has turned into a bedrock defenseman for the Penguins over the past twoplus years since coming over in a trade from St. Louis. He played in 81 regular-season games this year — missing only the meaningless finale in New York — and all 25 playoff games. He has one year left on his contract, with a cap hit of $2.1 million.
By going with the option of protecting eight skaters — rather than seven forwards and three defensemen — the Penguins were able to protect Schultz, Dumoulin and Maatta.
It did, however, mean that they had to leave some talented wingers exposed.
Rust is probably foremost among that group, with 15 goals this season, and seven more in the playoffs. He has played up and down the Penguins lineup — and likely will find himself in a bottom-six role next season — but could easily be a top-six winger for anexpansion team.
Rust’s contract is also very team-friendly, with one year left at a $640,000 cap hit before he becomes a restricted free agent in 2018.
The Penguins opted instead to protect Hornqvist, who has one year left on his deal at $4.25 million. Jake Guentzel and Conor Sheary are exempt from the expansion draft as first- or secondyear players.
Rust’s exposure might come as a bit of a surprise, but it seems highly unlikely a general manager as savvy as Rutherford would actually let a player and asset such as Rust leave with no return.
Hagelin, meanwhile, is coming off a bit of a frustrating end to his season. He missed the final 16 regularseason games with a broken fibula that never fully recovered, allowing him to play in just 15 playoff games, in which he scored two goals and had no assists.
Hagelin knows firsthand that personnel decisions are often out of players’ hands. He has been traded twice over the past two years, going from the Rangers to the Ducks to the Penguins.
“I’ve been around long enough to know trades can happen any time of the year,” Hagelin said. “It’s nothing I worry about. If it happens, it happens, and then you make the most of that situation. You want as many guys as possible to stay on the team next year. Obviously we have a great group of guys and great chemistry.”
Hagelin has two years left on his current deal, with a $4 million cap hit per season. That’s a hefty contract for a fourth-line player, which is where Hagelin was by the end of the Stanley Cup final, but the Penguins probably are optimistic that with an offseason to rest and recover from the injury, Hagelin will be able to recover his offensive form next season.
Wilson played in 20 of the 25 playoff games, rising to Evgeni Malkin’s left wing in the final. He scored three goals and had three assists in the postseason, after eight goals and 18 assists in the regular season.
Kuhnhackl, after playing in all 24 playoff games a year ago, only saw action in 11 this spring.
He was benched midway through the Ottawa series and an injury kept him out of the lineup for the rest of the postseason.
Wilson and Kuhnhackl each have one year left on their contracts, with a $625,000 cap hit this season. They likely will return to compete for time at bottomsix winger spots next season.