Pittsburgh trades Reilly Smith to the Rangers
Pens move on from a winger that didn’t quite fit it
Reilly Smith’s ups and downs in his one season in Pittsburgh have come to an end.
2nd rounder + 5th as return for Reilly Smith. https://t.co/kCKL8ShUjZ
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) July 1, 2024
The second round pick doesn’t come until 2027 — three drafts from now. The fifth round pick will be in 2025 and the lower (worse) of the two picks that the Rangers possess.
The Penguins dealt the winger to the New York Rangers today.
After a fast start with the Pens, the 2023 Stanley Cup champion hit a cold streak and eventually was demoted to the third line for much of the second half of the season.
Reilly Smith, acquired by NYR, is a middle six winger who's pretty good at pretty much everything but could not give the Penguins the scoring they desperately needed from him. Not the fastest skater but still a factor on the rush. #NYR pic.twitter.com/G8k3KcMRtH
— JFresh (@JFreshHockey) July 1, 2024
Pittsburgh only paid a third round pick to get Smith, so they recoup a modest premium to trade him now to a division rival. The Pens also open up a little cap space to deal with as they move on for next season in a new direction.
Update: The Penguins are retaining $1.25 million of Smith’s $5.0 million salary cap hit.
Pittsburgh is retaining 25 per cent of Reilly Smith's salary
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) July 1, 2024