Pittsburgh Penguins Almost Traded Veteran Stanley Cup Winner At The Deadline
The NHL trade deadline is an exciting time where star players find new homes and contend for a Stanley Cup. The Pittsburgh Penguins almost moved on from a player who had won a championship in the past.
Penguins Almost Traded A Veteran Forward At The Deadline
Since the trade deadline passed several reports have surfaced about trades that were almost traded. One report from Elliotte Friedman indicates that the Pittsburgh Penguins were on the verge of trading Reilly Smith out West.
"There was a lot of competition for Toffoli," Friedman said on the latest 32 Thoughts podcast. "There were a lot of rumours about LA LA was also interested in Reilly Smith; they just didn't have any room to do anything."
The Penguins who had a firesale were expected to trade multiple veterans including Smith. However, they ended up holding onto Smith and trading Jake Guentzel instead.
Will The Penguins Move On From Smith In The Offseason?
One reason the Penguins likely did not move on from Reilly Smith is because they didn't need to. He is under contract for next season at a cap hit of 5 million. If the Penguins are looking to improve and contend next season having a veteran like Smith could be an integral part.
This offseason if a competitive team makes an offer for Smith it could be something that Kyle Dubas and the Penguins should consider. While the Penguins want to continue contending they need to get younger which means offloading older complementary players like Smith.
Once the season comes to an end it will be interesting to see if the rumors surrounding Reilly Smith pick back up.
| POLL | ||
Will Reilly Smith be traded this offseason? | ||
| Yes | 167 | 75.2 % |
| No | 55 | 24.8 % |
| List of polls | ||
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