Bryan Rust called Friday's upcoming trade deadline a "really, really difficult situation" when I sat down with him after the Penguins' practice here in Las Vegas on Thursday.

"You don't really know what's going to happen," he told me. "For me and everybody in here, you just kind of take each day as it comes, each hour as it comes, because things can change quickly. That's just the nature of the business and the nature of the beast. This is one of those negative scenarios where sometimes you don't know where you could be the next day."

Rust, though, has full control over where he could be the next day. His contract has a no-movement clause that runs through the end of this season. He told me that nobody in management has even broached the idea of waiving the clause with him, and he has no interest in doing so.

"I haven't thought about it at all," he told me. "Obviously, Pittsburgh is my home. This organization has been my family for a long time, and I don't want to be anywhere else."

• Rickard Rakell doesn't have nearly as much protection -- only an eight-team no-trade list. Rakell, who told me the other day that he's hoping to stay, was in a great mood today. Didn't seem to be too worried. 

• Count Rust as another guy who is hoping his line stays intact: "(Rakell) is so smart, and he's so good at being able to get his stick free and get in a position to be able to shoot pucks. You've seen that all year with how many goals he scored, and his little, subtle passing plays, give-and-go plays, plays in traffic. He's so good at those, it helps us create offense."

• I spoke with a different player who would put all of the Canadian teams at the top of any no-trade list. Winnipeg because it's too cold, and the other teams for the media attention. "Someone like (Sidney Crosby) would be fine there," he said. "But I feel like it's harder for the middle-of-the-road players, there's more of a spotlight on you. I'd play in Philly before I play in Canada."

• Crosby's due to have a new locker room neighbor once the Penguins return home. He already lost his neighbor to his right in Drew O'Connor, with the vacated spot being taken by Anthony Beauvillier. The stall to his left was occupied by Michael Bunting. 

• Rust is going to miss Bunting's energy: "He's a big personality with with a lot of energy, both on and off the ice. Guys have to step up and try to bring that energy, bring that life, bring that morale to the team, because he was a guy who kept things loose. But then when it came time for the games, he was intense, and he brought that physical energy and got guys up and alive during games."

• The only member of the Penguins' hockey operations department on this trip is senior advisor Doug Wilson. Everyone else is back home, occupying the war room leading up to the deadline.

• I was chatting with Vincent Desharnais the day before he got traded, and he was talking about how much he loved Pittsburgh after finally settling into O'Connor's old apartment in the Strip District. He was a big fan of the restaurants and got a kick out of the knock-off t-shirt vendors. Oh, well!