Not sure the Pens trade makes a ton of sense but the value is basically there. I haven't been able to get a sense of just how down people are on Pettersson, since he's had one down year really. If Pitt panics and wants to get rid of him and his contract, this might be possible bit I don't think Woods replaces Rust in a lineup. They may want Bratt instead

Would Bratt and Wood for Rust and Pettersson be fair?

Probably need at 2nd or 3rd round pick. Pittsburgh has always struggled to find cheap, skilled wingers to play with Crosby and Rust is a great one so some may even say he's untouchable. I'm not a Pens fan so I'm not sure what their opinion would be

Who adds the pick? Im a pens fan and not sure how NJD fans view Bratt.

Bratts a solid young 3rd liner who could get better. And NJ sends the extra pick, Rust is the best player in this scenario so need to match that

3rd round pick you think?

Where are you getting third liner from? He's a top-6 winger.
The Devils should and probably would reject the trade if Bratt is included. The trade as initially proposed seems fair.

EDIT: I just looked at Rust's contract per the previous AGM. No way Pittsburgh moves him without significant assets coming back. It's tough to find 20g scorers on 3.5M deals.

He's not a 3rd liner

He's a top 6 winger

He's a top 6 winger on a team where the ENTIRE forward corps is still on their mom's health insurance (under 26 for my Canadiens). Devils will bring in some vets and Bratt will settle into the 3rd line unless he vastly improves. Shar, Zacha, Kuok, and arguably Johnsson are all better.

Johnsson is no where close to Bratt
Kuokkanen is definitely not better than Bratt
You can make the case for Sharangovich and Zacha, but factoring their defensive play, Bratt is better

This makes so little sense for the Devils. They are a rebuilding team giving up assets for an expiring contract to a team that is due to collapse in their own division?

This is the Penguins trying to create cap room trading Peterson as well. I'm not a big Miles Wood fan, but he's cheaper and an RFA.

Devils should not spend any assets of any value at this point as someone like Rust doesn't make them any more of a playoff team.

Devils wouldn't trade Bratt for Rust one for one. That kid is basically as good as Jack Hughes in transition.