The most notable player the Penguins will expose to Vegas in this week's NHL expansion draft has been public for nearly a week.
But now, Marc-Andre Fleury has some company on that list.
The Penguins, along with the 29 other NHL teams, released their official protected lists Sunday morning. The Penguins' list is as follows:
That means Bryan Rust, Carl Hagelin, Scott Wilson, Tom Kuhnhackl and Ian Cole will be the most prominent names joining Fleury as players the Golden Knights could theoretically select.
Vegas has until 10 a.m. Wednesday to make its picks, which will be revealed during the NHL Awards Show Wednesday night. The picks will be revealed team-by-team, in reverse order of finish in this year's standings, meaning the selection from the Penguins will be announced second-to-last.
The Penguins opted to protect eight skaters and one goalie, as opposed to the other option of seven forwards, three defenseman and one goalie.
This allowed them to keep an extra defenseman, and not have to expose Maatta, Schultz or Dumoulin, all young players under 26 the team considers the future of its blue line.
"That's how we prioritized our players," Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said Sunday.
Vegas is still widely expected to select Fleury, making him their first starting goalie and potential face of the franchise. It's possible, even, that the Penguins have a side deal in place sending some sort of asset to the Golden Knights to ensure they take Fleury, rather than one of the other available players.
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 like Rust _ who, as a young, cheap NHL-ready winger may 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 at the Penguins' locker clean-out Thursday. "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 last two-plus 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 all three of 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 will likely find himself in a bottom-six role next season _ but could easily be a top-six winger for an expansion 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 second-year players.
Rust's exposure may 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 like Rust leave with no return.
Hagelin, meanwhile, is coming off a bit of a frustrating end to his season. He missed the final 16 regular-season 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 no assists.
Hagelin knows first-hand 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 this year's final, but the Penguins are probably 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 Malkin's left wing during 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 last year, 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.
Both Wilson and Kuhnhackl have one year left on their contracts, with a $625,000 cap hit this season. They will both likely return to compete for time at bottom-six winger spots next season.
