Reilly Smith reacts to rumours of him wanting out of Pittsburgh!
With the trade deadline less than a week away…
HockeyFeed
Last month, reports emerged that the Pittsburgh Penguins were facing an issue with forward Reilly Smith, who has been allegedly unhappy ever since he was traded by the Vegas Golden Knights as a cap casualty this past summer. Chatter got so loud that some reporters and pundits linked him back to the Knights, but other rival teams also have called in to know more about Smith’s availability.
Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now spoke with Smith on Friday, who reacted to all of the trade noise with just a week to go until the deadline. He was directly asked about the rumour of his unhappiness with his new team and said:
“I mean, I’d say it’s pretty baseless,” Smith said before a long pause. “Just baseless opinions of people.”
Smith appeared frustrated with the chatter, but still answered more questions on rumours pushing him on the trade block.
“I think you’re aware of it. It’s kind of a weird time of year,” Smith added. “But you just focus on what you can control, and a lot of that you can’t control. So there’s no point stressing about those things.”
Smith is currently on pace for one of the worst offensive seasons of his career and it is clear that he has not clicked with linemate Evgeni Malkin. Therefore, he could become one of the Penguins’ trade bait ahead of the March 8 deadline. And Vegas could indeed be a landing spot for Smith, whose contract holds a 10-team no trade clause. He would likely love a move back to Sin City, where he still has strong connections.
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.
If we trust Smith’s words, he is happy with his role in Pittsburgh and looks to help the Penguins fight for a spot in the postseason, however, was he really going to reveal his true colours to media with less than a week to go prior to the trade deadline?
Stay tuned.
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