Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins forward Bryan Rust has been suspended 3 GAMES, is it fair?

Episode Date: January 27, 2026

The NHL’s Department of Player Safety announced that Bryan Rust will be suspended for three games. Hunter and Patrick break down the news that Rust has been suspended for three games for his hit to the head of Vancouver Canucks’ forward Brock Boeser. Is it a fair suspension, or is this another inconsistency from the DOPS? (1:10) With Rust set to miss the next three games, they discuss who can replace him in the lineup. Will it be Kevin Hayes? Rutger McGroarty? Someone else? (10:00) Finally, Hunter gives his thoughts on what he saw at Penguins practice on Tuesday. (20:00)Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!QuoTry Quo for free plus get 20% off your first 6 months when you go tohttp://Quo.com/lockedonnhlIndeedNow, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to https://indeed.com/lockedon right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelIf you’re a new customer, bet just $5 and get $200 in Bonus Bets if you win. Make it count — because after the Super Bowl, the season is over. Last call for football on FanDuel, an Official Sportsbook Partner of Super Bowl Sixty. Rocket MoneyTake control of your finances and cancel your unwanted subscriptions with Rocket Money.Go to https://RocketMoney.com/LOCKEDONtoday.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Penguins will be without Brian Rust for the next three games as he was suspended by the NHL's Department of Player Safety on Tuesday. Was it the right call? Pat and I are going to discuss that right after this. You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello and welcome back to the Tuesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am one of your host, Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Joined by my co-st, Patrick Damp,

you can follow him on all social media platforms at Send him for Wet. You can also follow the shows Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. And you can find us on Instagram at Locked-on underscore Penguins. Of course, thank you all so much for making this your first lesson slash watch of the day. We are free and available on all platforms. Pat, after we finished recording our Monday episode,

it was announced by the Angel's Department of Player Safety that Brian Rust was going to have a hearing for his illegal hit on Vancouver Canucks for Brock Besser, who has been placed on injured reserve, by the way, so he's going to be out for a little bit. He took that really big hit at the end of regulation on Sunday between the Penguins and the Canucks. Russ hearing was scheduled for Tuesday morning, and then a few hours after that, it was confirmed by the NHL's Department of Player Safety that Rust has been suspended for the next three games, so he will miss Thursdays game against the Blackcox, Saturdays game against the rain, and then Monday's game against the Senators, all three games on this homestand.

He'll be eligible to return on Tuesday on Long Island against the New York Islanders. A pretty big game in the standings, considering how close both teams are in the Metropolitan Division. You and I spoke about this situation on Monday saying it wasn't a good hit. We would support a suspension. I did not think it was going to be for three games, though. I said it was probably only going to be for a game. He has no history, not even a fine. said, hey, he's just going to get a game.

I think he'd be back by Saturday. Got that one wrong. Brian Rust has been suspended for three games. And before today's show, I wanted to do some research to see if there was some precedent with this, where a player that has a history of no suspensions has been suspended for this type of hit. I did find one situation. And that was Tanner-Jano last season back during the 24-25 season. This came in early November of 2024.

He was suspended for three games by the Department of Player Safety for. Funny enough, Pat, and legal check to the head of Brock Besser. He had been fine before that had not been suspended. So there is at least a little bit of precedent there. But here's the thing I really want to focus on. I just want there to be consistency with the Department of Player Safety. If you're going to do this one for Brian Rust and Tanner Geno, okay, then that needs to be the standard going forward.

The problem is there is no standard because it feels like they just spin the wheel and they're like, oh, you'll be suspended for one game. oh, you'll be suspended for two games. You'll get a $5,000 fine. That's the thing I really want to harp on for this segment. It's just that there's no consistency for these types of hits to the head. No matter what type of hit it is to the head, it feels like they just spin the wheel even if it's someone with no history.

So, again, that's my take on it. I figured he would get suspended. I did not think it was going to be for three games. And I just want to see more consistency from this department. That's all. Three games feels excessive. excessive for Brian Rust. Don't get me wrong. I stand 10 toes down with my take from the Monday episode that he is fully deserving of a suspension. I did rewatch, obviously, today, the clip,

and I got it wrong. It wasn't an elbow. It was a shoulder, but it was directly to Bessor's head. Like, there was no attempt to hit him in the shoulder. It was a very bad hit. But three games, for a guy with no history, three games for a guy who hasn't really stepped a toe out of line that often. It just feels like they, like you said, just spun the wheel and landed on three and decided that was that. There's only so much complaining that we is hockey podcasters and fans can do about the Department of Player Safety. And it really, it's such a, I'm trying to find the right words for this because I don't want to pretend or act as if this Brian Russ suspension is some affront to the sport. Because he's deserved to be suspended.

But it's kind of a black mark on the league that when they had a really good ahead of player safety in Brendan Shanahan, where he was a pretty tough sheriff where if you did something that was in blatant violation of the rules, in blatant violation of your fellow player, he threw the book at you. And after a couple of years, the NHL and its owners were just like, yeah, we don't like this anymore. So they send them to Toronto to run the Maple Leafs. and it's just been inconsistent since. So I don't know. Three games feels excessive.

He deserved punishment for the hit, but I just don't get it. Yeah, I do think overall it is a little bit excessive. However, at the same time, if you are setting this standard for three games for someone who has never been fined, never been suspended for an illegal check to the head, I expect to see that same standard for other situations. because there are going to be a lot of other situations

where a player with no history is going to throw that type of hit and they're going to get a hearing. I just want to see that same standard. I don't want to see, oh, you know, gets a 5K fine, gets a one game suspension. No, you've said it now.

I brought up a Tanner Geno situation last season. That has to be the standard. But my problem again is there's just no consistency. So I don't expect them to have that same standard because they spin the wheel. And I'm perfectly fine with there being a little. level of consistency for checks to the head. Because whether the NHL wants to admit it or not, whether the NHL wants to go to court

and try to bury it as much as they can, there is a link between repeated blows to the head and CTE. There is a link to concussions in hockey leading to CTE. You don't have to agree with it. You don't have to like it. The science agrees with it. So if people are throwing hits to the head, they should be punished because you're taking money off of the table from your fellow NHLPA members. You're shortening their lives.

You're hurting their quality of life. And there should be suspensions for that. Just so I get it out of the way, because I'll pre-argue with the comments, this isn't me saying you take hitting out of hockey. This isn't me saying you take toughness out of hockey. You don't need to head hunt. You don't need to throw blows to the head. That's not checking. Checking as someone who has played and coached the sport.

When you are taught to hit, you are taught to go shoulder to shoulder. You are taught to go shoulder to chest. And you are taught not to launch people. That is how hitting is coached. That is how hitting is taught. And what Brian Russ did was none of that. It was a reckless play. And he knows better.

I said that during Monday's episode. He knows better than to do something like that. He's going to pay the price for a few games. I know some people are probably going to come in the comments and ask, can he appeal? Yes, he can. How that will go? I really don't know, to be honest, but yes, he has the option to appeal it. We'll see if he decides to go down that route, but he'll be suspended for the next three games.

I still think the Penguins can win these games, especially against teams that are out of the playoff picture. But now here comes the question. Who replaces Brian Rust in the lineup? Well, Pat and I are going to discuss that coming up right after this. But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about our first sponsor, which is game time. There's nothing like being near the ice during hockey season, the speed, the hits, the atmosphere, it's unmatched. Watching at home is great, but being in the building is a completely different experience. The only thing that's used to getting in the way was actually getting tickets, long queues,

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for $20 off. All right, we're back here on this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my host, Patrick Damp, and Pat, there's now a hole in the lineup because Brian Ross has been playing on the top line next to Sidney Crosby and Ricardo

Kale for the last several games. He's going to be out for the next three, unless he appeals and somehow wins it. But I think if he does appeal, I think it's probably going to stand again. Could be dead wrong on that like I was on this suspension for three games. That's just the way I'm seeing it at least right now. But there is now a hole on the top line.

I don't think they want to break up the Manta, Kendall-Brizo line. They're going really well right now. I don't think they want to break out, you know, Novak's chemistry with Mons. Malkin and Chinakov. They've been very good. The fourth line's been great.

I think whoever comes in the lineup is going to play on the top line with Coney Crosby and Ricardo Raquel. And yes, people, this does open the door for Kevin Hayes to return to the lineup for a few games. I know no one is going to like it, especially with the way that he has played this season. But I think right now that is the most likely path. Unless they want to call up Rucker McGority or Ville Coivinen from Wilkesbury, I prefer one of those to be up here with the penguins.

But Kevin Hayes has been an extra forward basically throughout the season. When they've been healthy, he's been a healthy scratch. But now that Rust is going to be out for the next three games, my thinking is right now. Kevin Hayes is going to be up there with Crosby and Raquel. And yes, I can't wait for the comments on this one, Pat. So I'm going to work this from two angles. Let's start with what you just said about Kevin Hayes,

because that is probably the most likely scenario is Kevin Hayes is going to draw back into the lineup for the next few games. So let's do this. Let's move Justin Brzo up to the first line in place of Brian Rust. He will play with Raquel and Crosby. We'll see how that works out. You move Noelle Ocari to that line with Anthony Mantha and Ben Kindle, and then you put Hayes on the,

fourth line in place of Achari. I know we don't want to break up any of these lines, but that really does feel like the path of least resistance if you want to put Kevin Hayes back in the lineup. Now, you can do a little bit more shuffling here. Maybe you can put Gino up with Sid and then put Brazil with Novak and Chinakov. Maybe you can do a little bit of other shuffling. But at the end of the day, if you really want to make this quote, unquote, work, Hayes has to be on the fourth line. We saw this a few weeks ago.

They tried to square peg round hole Kevin Hayes on to the top unit. And it was a disaster. He just, he brought everything down. He's not that kind of player anymore. He still has use. I still think in limited quantities, he is fine enough.

He brings enough to the lineup that you can have them in there for a week. And it's not going to derail your season, unless you do what they do. did last time and try to put him into the top six. The other obvious answer to me is Rutger McGroarty. Call him up, put him on Sid's line, and let him cook. We saw it late last season. He has chemistry with Sidney Crosby.

He does, yes. He plays really well with him. And you do that. We'll see what happens after Rust returns from suspension because we were talking about this last week. this is a forward group over the last month that I don't have any worry when any of these four lines go over the boards. They all have done a really good job over the past month. So decisions are going to need to be made.

And it honestly might just be a tough luck situation for Rutger McGroity because there's just no room for him right now. It doesn't mean that he's a bust. It doesn't mean that he's not a good player. but you look at how good this team's been playing. He can stay in Wilkes Bear. It may suck. He may not like it. We may not like it.

But that just might be the, them might be the breaks right now. Right. And you can also say the same thing for Vili Covenant because, you know, I've liked a lot of the underlying numbers. I think the process has been there at times this season. I still want to see more consistency. But there just really isn't a full roster spot open for him right now when everyone's

healthy. So you could put him in that same vein where he may not like it, but he's still developing down there, same with Rucker Morgority. If I had to pick between the two to come up, I would probably lean towards Rucker just because of the chemistry he showed at the end of last season with Crosby. I also think as a player, he fits better on that line compared to Coyvenin, at least in my opinion.

So that's the route I would take if you want to recall one of those two from Wilkesbury. but I still at the same time, wouldn't be surprised if they just say, hey, Kevin Hayes, you're going to go up there for a few games, and then you'll come out of the line of when Brian Russ comes back. I do also hear you at the same time

where if you want to switch up the lines a little bit, even though they've all been rocking as of late, you can move up someone like a Brazil up there. I think even, this may make some people mad. If you want to put Tommy Novak up there, he also showed some chemistry with Crosby early in the season. I think that would make sense too. even though, again, we all know how great Novak and Malkin have been lately.

I wrote a piece about this for the hockey news late last night, went into some numbers, put some good clips in there, about just how well they read off one another. That's great, but I still can see Novak potentially going up there and, you know, fiddling with the lines elsewhere and maybe having Kevin Hayes, you know, in a bottom six role. I also think to the covenin part of it, he meshes better with Hvgeny Malkin,

and you don't want to mess with. with that Chinakov Novak-Malkin line right now. That's very, yeah. So again, very similar to what I was saying about McGrady, I don't think it's so much a commentary on Covenin as it is a commentary on this forward group at this present moment. He just doesn't fit in right now. When we see what happens, either at the trade deadline or in the off season going

into next year, I think those guys are going to really make their push to become true full-time NHLers because you know you're going to. going to see some movement between now and then. But right now, I look at this, again, I look at this forward group. The thing that is nice and sorry to derail the conversation a little bit, because I know we got a couple of things to get to. I do think another thing that's really nice, when we look at this group of 12 forwards, there's a lot of mixing and matching here that could work because we have seen Ben Kindle work on the second line. We've seen Tommy Novak work in the bottom six or the top six.

We've seen Brazo and Mantha work on the second line. Nolachari could fill in in a pinch for the third line. Same for Dewar and Lazot. So Dan Muse has a pretty tough job here to figure out what to do with Brian Rust falling to a three game suspension. So I'm really interested to see where he's going to take this. Yeah, I agree. And just for the next few games anyway,

you're not playing some world beaters here, people. You're playing the Blackhawks who are not very good. Yeah, I know. Connor Baderd has had a really good season. Frank Naser has also been a lot of fun to watch. Spencer Knight when he has played in the crease has been very good. But this is still not a playoff team. The Rangers are the worst team in the conference,

and it's not even closely. They also started off their sell-off. Late last night, trading cars in Cuc to the Islanders, which is pretty rare. You don't really see those two teams hook up for trades, considering the rivalry. And then you have the senators who their goaltending has been awful. this year and they just can't get out of their own way. So you're not playing a lot of world

beaters here. I think even with Kevin Hayes likely probably coming back in the lineup, you can still win these games. So that's really my final thought on that. Yeah, it stinks that Russ is suspended, but even without him, all three of these extremely, extremely winnable games, and you still need the Penguins to banks and points because as we know, the March schedule is going to be pretty nuts. So I think that's going to do it for this second segment coming up to end the show. I attended practice today in Cranberry. I braved the crazy roads with how slippery they are and more snow falling as I was driving. And I'm going to give you all what I saw during practice. Give my thoughts on all that coming up right after this. But before we get to that, we have to tell

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That's QUO.com slash locked on NHL. That's quo, no missed calls and no missed customers. All right, we're back here on this episode of the Locked On Penguins podcast. I am one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my good friend and co's Patrick Damp and Pat. I arrived about 15 to 20 minutes early at practice because I wanted to get a glimpse. if Evgeny Malkin was on a little bit early. Sure enough, he was everyone. You can take a deep breath.

Evgeny Malkin was a full participant of practice. He was totally fine today. Deadline rushes with Novak and Chinakov. He's all good. Yen's got nothing to worry about. Now, also on the injury front, Jackson, Ivaney, he is going to be out for up to eight weeks with a left hand injury.

He had successful surgery on it. Basically, Pat, it sounds like that's a broken hand. For St. Ivany, he got injured on. Sunday against Vancouver Canucks. So you follow that timeline. He'll be out. It looks like till the end of March, maybe into the early portions of April.

So right around towards the end of the regular season when the Penguins are still probably very much in the mix to make the playoffs. That injury is stanchious because I felt like over the last two, three games, C&Iv and he was playing a little bit better. Now this will be an opportunity for Connor Clifton to slot back in. Or Ilya Solovial, who was actually getting some reps today with Ryan Shee on the bottom tier. So at least based on today's practice lines,

especially on the back end, it looks like Soloviov is going to get the first crack at replacing Jackson and Iveney in the lineup, but this could all change by Thursday. They're off on Wednesday. This is all changed by the morning skate, maybe Connor Clifton's in. But at least based on what I saw today,

it looks like Soloviav is going to make his Penguins debut on Thursday against Chicago. They did a lot of work today. Power play, penalty kill. They had a hilarious shootout towards the end of practice where the guys were really getting into it. The winning team was celebrating pretty hard. The losing team had to do a bunch of push-ups. Stuart Skinner was getting a lot of work in shootouts, which we haven't seen, of course,

because Archer Shilov keeps getting all the shootout reps in games. It was making some nice games. Some other players also had some really nice deeks around him, too. So that was cool. Just a really fun energetic practice. It went for over an hour, which makes sense because they're off tomorrow. They have a morning skate on Thursday. So that's really it when it comes to the practice notes today, though. This is tough news for St. Iveny because I know I was battling in the comments with our good friend Harrison over yesterday's episode. Just to clarify if anybody didn't see it, when I talk about Jack St. Ivany doing well in a third pairing role, I'm talking about it in the context of these Pittsburgh penguins. If the Pittsburgh penguins of this year were Stanley Cup contenders, Jack St. Ivany would not be on your third pair. That is just, that's the way that I am talking about St. Ivany. in this season. So it is difficult for him because he has shown with Shea a little bit of chemistry over the past couple of weeks. And we saw it a couple of years ago when those two got paired up

together. So it's just tough luck for him. I'm really curious to see what Soloviav brings to the lineup. As much as I wanted to come on here, turn the microphone on and say it's Connor Clifton time, give me that beautiful Clifton chaos where he's just energizer bunny on the back end every time his skates touch the ice. You got this new toy. You got a moment to try it out, see what it's like, see what it can do. And he's been all right in his limited NHL actions. So you might as well give him a look since you got the injury and you got the opening.

Obviously right now you still have Caleb Jones on the shelf. you still have Ryan Graves on the shelf. So there's room. There is room and you can do a little bit of tinkering if you're Dan Mews. But at the end of the day, this is just, that's crappy luck for Jack St. Ivany. Right. And just especially considering that, you know, he was, again, getting into a little bit of a groove these last two, three games.

And then he gets hurt and now he's out until the end of March, early April. So just really brutal timing for him, especially on. the bottom pair, but you said about Soloviov, they're going to get a chance to see what he can do. They acquired him recently. He hasn't played yet, but that's going to change here. I still think you're going to see plenty of Connor Clifton down the stretch. I don't think you're going to see Solovia off play every game with St. I have any hurt, but I think you're kind of see them come in the lineup, if I had to guess. I think you're going to see both those guys really pushing each other for that, you know, number six spot, especially now, you know, that Ryan Graves is on

injured reserve. Caleb Jones just simply can't stay healthy outside of the very beginning portion of the year. So there's that. Again, Gino, all good. Everyone can relax about that one. Otherwise, man, not really too much to report when it comes to practice day. They're going to be off on Wednesday. As I said, they'll have a morning skate on Thursday.

We'll get more of a glimpse as to what the lines will look like. Because I imagine it's going to be a full morning skate on Thursday. So we'll get to see, okay, is Kevin Hayes were playing? replacing Brian Russ. Is someone else going to be recalled between now and then, like, where can McGority? Time will tell on that. Do you have anything else to add for this episode before we get out of here?

I know it's a short one today. Usually we're well over 30 plus minutes. We're hitting at, what, 25-ish right now? So I just want to see two things from this practice today. The shootout stuff is good. I'm glad they're being competitive about it. That's really, in my estimation, the best medicine. turn it into a competition,

turn it into, put some stakes on it. That way these guys actually take it seriously. And we just got to see the power play get back to work here because it has fallen off over the past week. And luckily to this point, it hasn't hurt them. But eventually you're going to need your power play to help you power through a win. So they got to get back on track here real soon.

Yeah. And I have faith in Todd Nelson to work out some of the kinks in this unit. It just continues to look very clunky, but I think they're going to sort things out. You know, Carlson was hurt for a little bit now that he's back. I think it's only a matter of time before this unit really starts to click, a disabled. And also one last thing, Arjoshilovs broke out some new pads today, pal. I know if you saw my screenshot on Blue Sky, I put this on Twitter as well. He has his team Latvia pads all ready to go, and he was rocking them during practice.

He's ready for the Olympics, and there is a decent chance that he is team Latvian. the starting goaltender at the Olympic. So just wanted to bring that up. Those pads were pretty sweet in person. But I think that's going to do it for today's episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Thank you all so much to take the time to listen to slash watch this one. Pat and I will be back with a fresh episode for you guys on Wednesday discussing all the latest with the Penguins News. And of course, our favorite segment of the week, Warrior Helmet Wednesday, giving out our weekly MVP for the last week of games.

So for Patrick Damp, I'm Hunzer Hodes. Thank you all so much for tuning in. We appreciate it. We will be back on Wednesday.