Trading Reilly Smith should be a top priority for Penguins

When the Pittsburgh Penguins acquired Reilly Smith this offseason he arrived with some reasonably high expectations. Not the type of expectations that would make him a star, or a game-changing player in the lineup, but the type of expectations that seemed to make him a perfect replacement for Jason Zucker.

The money was similar.

The age was similar.

The production was similar.

It seemed like a perfect fit that everybody was on board with. I certainly liked it. I thought it had a chance to be a strong trade. Especially at the low cost of a third-round pick. The Penguins had a need and they pounced on Vegas’ salary cap situation to get what looked to be a solid second-line winger to insert right into the lineup.

Things started off strong, with Smith looking like an ideal fit next to Evgeni Malkin on the Penguins’ second line through the first 10 games with six goals and 11 total points.

Then it stopped. Everything. The production, the chemistry, the performance. Since that 10-game mark Smith has scored just four goals with 11 total points in the 41 games that have followed, and even worse, he just seems to be invisible on most nights. A complete non-factor.

Given that he is still owed $5 million next season, it has turned out to be a wildly disappointing move and now a potentially big drain on the salary cap next season.

Trading that contract should be one of the top priorities for general manager Kyle Dubas over the next week. And fortunately for him, he might have a chance to do that.

Frank Seravalli actually has Smith listed as the No. 3 player on his latest trade board, and even included the surprising line that the Penguins seem to be getting more interest on Smith than they are on pending unrestricted free agent Jake Guentzel.

The extra year of contract term might be playing a role, as well as the fact Smith will not cost anywhere near as much and teams might even be able to get him at a reduced rate if the Penguins retain some of his salary.

If the Penguins can find a way to get out of that, any part of it, they absolutely should.

Sometimes a player and a team just are not a match. And that seems to be the case with Smith and the Penguins.

Remember the David Perron experience? That seemed like it should have been a good fit on paper. And it simply wasn’t, as Perron played some of his worst hockey with the Penguins before being traded just a little over a year later for Carl Hagelin in what turned out to be a pretty significant, franchise-changing trade.

I don’t expect the Penguins to get that lucky here, but it’s definitely a situation where a fresh start would seem welcomed by everybody. It is also one of the few instances where the Penguins might be able to shed some cap space for next season and deal one of their veteran players.

There are a lot of thoughts and speculation as to why Smith is struggling here, but I think the simplest and most logical explanation is the most likely — he has always been a wildly inconsistent player from one year to the next, and he has been very prone to performances like this.

Every player is streaky to a certain degree with their production within an individual season. But Smith tends to take that to an entirely new level and has had it happen on a season-by-season basis.

His overall numbers this season are disappointing, but they are also nearly identical to what he has done in some previous seasons in his career including 2014-15, 2016-17, 2013-14, 2020-21. He has done this before.

I suppose there is always the chance he bounces back next season (he has done it before after these down years), but he is also going to be 33 years old next year. Even worse and even more concerning than the lack of production is the simple fact that you go weeks at a time without even noticing him. He is not scoring, and he is not really contributing in any meaningful way. I am willing to gamble on the fact he might rediscover some of his production somewhere else. The Penguins need the fresh start, they need the salary cap space, and Smith probably needs the fresh start as well.

If there is a window to move on here. The Penguins need to do everything in their power to make it happen.