On December 27, 2018, the Penguins signed Jake Guentzel to an extension with an annual value of $6 million.
That cap hit likely served as a good tool for the Penguins negotiations’ when extending Bryan Rust.
After all, how could Rust argue for a higher AAV than a player who tied Sidney Crosby for the lead in team production lead in the 2021-22 regular season, and tied him once more for the team lead in the playoffs?
Rust’s contract is the first real test of this theoretical “Guentzel cap.” A look at CapFriendly’s $1 million-plus Penguins extensions since the team extended Guentzel in 2018 shows us Rust is really the only player on this list who could have expected to earn more than $6 million AAV.