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Sending Smith to Wilkes-Barre is Easy Call … Until it Isn’t

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It’s no secret that, with training camp little more than a month away, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a surplus of NHL-caliber defensemen.

That their 2022-23 payroll will have to be pared a bit to make them compliant with the NHL’s salary-cap ceiling of $82.5 million is common knowledge, too.

Just as it is that assigning defenseman Ty Smith to their farm team in Wilkes-Barre before the regular season begins could help the Penguins deal with both issues.

Although Smith, acquired in the trade that sent John Marino to New Jersey, doesn’t have a particularly bloated contract — he’s scheduled to make just $863,333 if/when he’s in the NHL during the coming season — putting him in the American Hockey League would nudge the Penguins closer to the cap’s upper limit.

And they could do that without fear of losing him to another team, because Smith is the only one of the nine defensemen expected to compete for a spot on the major-league roster who is exempt from waivers.

Considering all of that, it might not seem like a bad idea for Smith to spend the rest of this offseason apartment-hunting in the northeast corner of the state.

There’s just one complication: The people who will construct the parent club’s roster for the coming season seem convinced that Smith might not give them the option of demoting him. That he simply will show too much talent and promise during the preseason to make a trip to the minors practical, no matter what issues might be addressed by doing so.

A member of the Hockey Operations department, speaking on condition of anonymity, acknowledged that there are scenarios under which the Pittsburgh Penguins would have no option but to send Smith down to get under the cap ceiling, but was adamant that he is expected to fill a significant role with the Penguins this winter.

Smith certainly did that for New Jersey in 2020-21, his first season as a pro. He had two goals and 21 assists in 48 games with the Devils to earn a spot on the NHL’s all-rookie team.

He took a step back last season — Smith’s ice time and responsibilities declined, and he put up five goals and 15 assists in 66 games — but Penguins officials seem confident he will rebound from that disappointing sophomore season.

The Hockey Ops staffer suggested last season was an “aberration” for Smith, and that his struggles reflected those of the team around him.

It’s also worth noting that assistant coach Todd Reirden has been praised for the way he’s been able to develop young defensemen, and Smith definitely has a skills set that can be further refined.

Precisely where Smith might fit into the Pittsburgh Penguins’ defense pairings isn’t clear.

He is their most skilled left-handed defenseman, and could be used alongside someone filling a role similar to the one Brian Dumoulin has with Kris Letang. However, it also is conceivable that Mike Sullivan and his staff would try him with a righty who has a strong offensive game, such as Jeff Petry.

Of course, all of that is out of Smith’s control. If he thinks at all about who his partner will be this fall, it should be with the intent of not giving the franchise’s decision-makers cause to even consider pairing him with someone who will be working in the AHL.