Penguins’ place Bryan Rust and Alex Nedeljkovic on injured reserve

On the Eve of the NHL’s opening night, the Pittsburgh Penguins have unveiled their roster.

Forward Bryan Rust and goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic will start the season on the injured-reserve.

Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan has described Rust as “Day to day”.

Rust tallied 28 goals and 28 assists for 56 points in 62 games during the 2023-24 season with Pittsburgh. The 32-year-old suffered injuries throughout the season which held him out of the lineup for about 20 games.

Rust was a third-round, No. 80 overall pick of the Penguins in the 2010 NHL Draft. He made his NHL debut during the 2014-15 season, he’s spent the entirety of his 10-season NHL career with the Pens. He won back-to-back Stanley Cup Championships with the Penguins in 2016 and 2017. Rust is currently in the third year of a six-year deal with a $5.125 million cap hit that he signed with the Penguins in the 2022 offseason.

Meawnwhile, Nedeljkovic will also start the season on injured reserve after suffering a lower-body injury. The 28-year-old is coming off of a solid season working in tandem with Tristan Jarry, where he had an 18-7-7 record, a .902% save percentage, a shutout, and a 0.57 goals saved above expected in 38 games played. \

The Penguins re-signed Nedeljkovic to a two-year contract extension with a $2.5 million cap hit back in June. Nedeljkovic is a former second-round pick by the Carolina Hurricanes in the 2014 NHL Draft, he made his NHL debut during the 2016-17 season and saw stints at the NHL level over the next four years before establishing himself as a regular in the 2020-21 season, where he was a finalist for the Calder trophy.