Penguins defenseman Ty Smith, 4 others clear waivers
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Ty Smith will remain with the Penguins.
On Friday, the left-handed defenseman cleared waivers along with forwards Jonathan Gruden and Rem Pitlick, as well as defensemen Taylor Fedun and Xavier Ouellet. All five were assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League (AHL).
The entire rigamarole of Smith going on waivers and not being claimed offered a vivid view of what value the once-prized prospect has at the moment as an NHLer.
A first-round pick (No. 17 overall) in 2018 of the New Jersey Devils, Smith, 23, was acquired by the Penguins via a scrutinized trade that sent steady second-pairing defenseman John Marino to New Jersey.
While Marino settled in as a shut-down defender and helped the Devils reach the postseason in 2022-23, Smith largely languished with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, albeit due to limited salary cap space on the Penguins’ NHL roster that forced him to be assigned to the AHL roster.
When injuries cratered the Penguins’ defense last season, Smith earned a recall in December, appeared in nine games and posted four points (one goal, three assists) while averaging 20:12 of ice time per contest.
Smith’s own injuries — specifically fractures to his jaw and cheekbones — limited him to 39 AHL games and 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists) with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
A member of the NHL’s All-Rookie team in 2020-21, Smith had never played in the AHL before last season.
This past offseason, as a restricted free agent, the Penguins re-signed Smith to a one-year deal worth $775,000.
While hopes were high for Smith — at least externally — entering this season, he has not had a particularly effective preseason. In two games, Smith has no points, one shot and two penalty minutes according to Natural Stat Trick.
On Tuesday, the Penguins split their players remaining in camp into two groups, one of predominantly NHL regulars and the other being reserves.
Smith was with the reserves and remained with that group until being assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Friday.
Penguins coach Mike Sullivan indicated the reason for waiving Smith, Fedun, Gruden, Ouellet as well as Pitlick and assigning several others to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Thursday involved the limited number of players that can accompany the team for its trip to Halifax, Nova Scotia for a preseason exhibition contest against the Ottawa Senators Monday.
“We can only take so many guys to Halifax,” Sullivan said Thursday evening. “These are all very difficult decisions. Ty is a good defenseman. He’s a solid defenseman and we think very highly of him. These are difficult decisions that we are trying to make. We’re trying to get down to a certain number at this point. We’ll continue to make these decisions.
“Just because these decisions are made today doesn’t mean anything is etched in stone. Performance is going to be the dictator on the decisions that are made and they’ll continue to be the dictator moving forward. It’s the nature of pro sports.”
Guentzel skates with teammates
Injured Penguins forwards Jake Guentzel and Raivis Ansons continue to progress from injuries with which they entered camp.
Guentzel, a fixture at left wing on the top line, is recovering from offseason surgery to his right ankle and skated with teammates in a non-contact fashion. Along with Ansons, Guentzel worked out with a group of reserves in Cranberry. Later, Guentzel skated with the group of NHL regulars.
There was no substantive update on either player from Sullivan, but the coach was upbeat over Guentzel’s convalescence.
“We’re trying to get a certain workload with Jake, and he’s progressing,” Sullivan said. “We’re real encouraged with how far he’s come. This was his first day joining the team practice. … I thought he looked really good. We’ll see where he goes, but we’re encouraged by his progress.”
Ansons, a prospect, still is recovering from an undisclosed ailment he suffered last season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.