An outstanding performance from Ty Smith could be one of the best things that could happen to the Pittsburgh Penguins when training camp begins next month.
Unless it’s one of the worst.
Smith, acquired from New Jersey in the Juan Marino trade last month, he’s one of nine NHL-caliber defensemen on the Penguins’ depth chart, and one of the most gifted offensively.
He is also the only one of the group who is eligible to be assigned to the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Wilkes-Barre without going through waivers. Not to mention being the only one whose contract requires him to take a reduced salary ($70,000) when he’s in the minors, compared to his NHL salary ($863,333).
Considering the Penguins aren’t expected to carry more than seven defensemen on their Opening Night roster and have to cut a total of seven figures from their payroll before the start of the regular season, exactly how much are they over the salary cap? . the ceiling depends on which players are projected to be in the NHL when the regular season begins: Smith is, at least for now, an obvious candidate for demotion.
He certainly wouldn’t be the first young player to be assigned to the AHL mainly, if not entirely, because he wouldn’t have to go through waivers to get there. In fact, that’s a good fit for the front office when it comes to dealing with the stress of trying to cut your roster or meet the salary cap.
But it is probably not as simple as it might seem at first glance. Especially if Smith doesn’t allow it.
Which is entirely possible.
The Pittsburgh Penguins, after all, didn’t trade for Smith because they believed he could be a good guy if they faced tough decisions on the regular-season roster. (Though that had to be a nice bonus for Rum Hextall.)
They got it because he’s a very good skater with solid offensive skills, who played well enough in 2020-21 to claim a spot on the NHL rookie team.
He is, at 22, still a work in progress and, at 5-foot-11, 180 pounds, he doesn’t provide the size or strength the Penguins’ defensive corps could use, but he has the potential to perform at a high level for a long time.
Starting, perhaps, when he shows up to camp.
Which could definitely complicate things for management if Hextall hasn’t traded a defense or two by then.
If Smith establishes himself as one of the Penguins’ top three left-handers, especially if he does so by a significant margin, sending him to Wilkes-Barre would fall somewhere between poor management and poor practice, considering the Penguins face a very high challenge. competitive battle for a place in the playoffs.
More than a few teams in the Eastern Conference they’ve made significant strides this offseason, and any personnel moves the Penguins make that cost them even a point or two in the standings could have dire consequences when the playoff race settles.
There’s also the question of the long-term repercussions an unwarranted trip to the minors could have on Smith’s development.
Now, it’s entirely possible that Smith, who has never played in the minor leagues, uses such a demotion as motivation, feeling compelled to show that sending him was an error in judgment on the part of the front office and coaching staff.
On the other hand, it could also be that it would lead Smith to doubt his own abilities, losing confidence in the skills that made him an attractive addition in the first place.
There’s no guarantee he’d react that poorly, of course, but if the guy is projected to be a significant contributor to his team for years to come, and proves worthy to do so early in 2022-23, why run the risk?
Having a surplus of qualified players at any position is a good deal for people building a roster; it’s infinitely preferable to filling the spots with guys whose hockey skills are better suited to, say, running a drive-through window.
Smith is definitely not one of the latter, and if the Pittsburgh Penguins are lucky, he’ll give them a decision to make in early October. Or, more to the point, leave them with only one reasonable course of action.
