Last year, just a few short weeks after taking the open general manager job in Pittsburgh, Kyle Dubas made a deal with the defending Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights, who were in cap hell amidst a summer of partying hard.
Reilly Smith, who was accounting for $5 million against the salary cap, was a salary that the Golden Knights needed to shed, and Pittsburgh needed to add a top six winger. It was a perfect match, and given Vegas’ cap crunch, they were dealing from a position of weakness, netting only a third round pick at the time.
Unfortunately, it just didn’t work out for Smith in Pittsburgh. Smith tallied 13 goals and 27 assists in his lone year with the Penguins, and a sizable chunk of that production came in the opening weeks of the season.
Lengthy droughts and a general lack of engagement in Smith’s play led to him being a trade target at the deadline, but the Penguins were unable to find a taker.
Despite the results on the ice, it was still a trade that made a ton of sense for the Penguins at the time. Sometimes things just don’t pan out, and it becomes a matter of how you pick up the pieces moving forward. Dubas did what he could.
Dubas’ free agent track record in Pittsburgh has been very shaky so far, but he has shown to have a brilliant mind in terms of trades. Despite an underwhelming season for Smith in black and yellow, the Penguins were able to acquire a higher draft pick then they paid for him, and got an extra fifth rounder as well.
It’s important to note that the Penguins are retaining 25% of Smith’s contract (equivalent to $1.25 million against the salary cap), which expires at the end of the 2024-25 season.
The retention does put a damper on what seemed like a slam dunk win for Dubas, but it still creates $3.75 million in cap space for Pittsburgh. One has to assume they will use that money towards the forward core, which has several holes and now will also have to account for the loss of Smith.
However, the return in draft capital is still alright. The Penguins, whether Dubas will ever admit it, are entering the early stages of rebuild mode, and a trade like this that gets back only futures is the type of deal we probably haven’t seen the last of.
Pittsburgh has now made a trade that netted them a future second rounder twice in this week alone, with the Kevin Hayes trade back at the NHL Draft getting St. Louis’ pick next season.
While New York’s second rounder won’t come until three years from now, it likely will be at a key point in the rebuilding process for the Penguins.
There will rightfully be some concern as to how the Penguins will use this new found cap space, but this trade is still a win for a team that had to move Smith out this offseason.
(Featured photo by Gene J. Puskar/AP)
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