Unhappy with the Penguins, Reilly Smith wants out of Pittsburgh!

The Pittsburgh Penguins are facing an issue with forward Reilly Smith. He was acquired this summer by new general manager Kyle Dubas in an exciting that brought one of the defending Stanley Cup champions to Pittsburgh. However, it has now been reported that Smith has been unhappy ever since he was traded by the Golden Knights as a cap casualty and chatter has emerged that a trade back to Vegas could be in the works.

This is what Jesse Granger and Josh Yohe of The Athletic have recently reported:

“Smith hasn’t clicked with the Penguins and, after seemingly having some real chemistry with Malkin in the early going, he not only hasn’t been productive but hasn’t been noticeable.”

They added: “It has long been suspected that Smith didn’t want to be traded from Vegas, and that he’s never fully embraced the idea of playing in Pittsburgh.”

Smith is currently on pace for one of the worst offensive seasons of his career and he has not clicked with linemate Evgeni Malkin. Therefore, he could become one of the Penguins’ trade bait ahead of the March 8 deadline. However, it sounds like the idea of moving Smith back to Sin City isn’t so far fetched.

“Smith has a 10-team no trade clause in his deal, which should only help the Golden Knights if they wanted to trade for him. Smith has strong connections to Las Vegas on and off the ice, and likely would welcome a return.”

However, the Golden Knights would have to find a way to fit Smith’s $5 million cap hit for this season and next under thei cap, and let’s not forget it is why Vegas moved him in the first place. But for the Penguins, this could mean making room on their cap and possibly looking at ways to keep Jake Guentzel in the fold after all.

This will be one to keep an eye on leading to the trade deadline.

Recommended articles:

• Penguins release awful injury update
• Penguins acquire Stanley Cup champion forward and original misfit from Vegas in pre-draft trade!
• Oilers fan tries to dump beer on Reilly Smith, fails miserably
• Bruins working on cost-cutting trade after move on waivers
• Vegas reportedly lock up Reilly Smith to new $15 million contract