Reilly Smith's arrival one of many changes for the Penguins' left wingers
The Pittsburgh Penguins are scheduled to report to training camp on Wednesday with the first day of on-ice activities coming on Thursday. Here is a look at their depth at the left winger position.
The left side of the Penguins depth chart among their forward has undergone considerable changes this offseason, including one involuntary, albeit temporary, alteration.
Jake Guentzel, the most prolific winger franchise center Sidney Crosby has skated with, will miss a handful of games to open the season as he recovers from offseason surgery to his right ankle.
President of hockey operations Kyle Dubas is hopeful Guentzel will only miss five games to open the season. Regardless, the Penguins are going to have a much different look at left wing on all four of their lines as they open the season considering the free-agent departures of Jason Zucker and Danton Heinen.
Dubas’ first prominent transaction in crafting this roster came in late June when he acquired steady 20-goal threat Reilly Smith from the Stanley Cup champion Vegas Golden Knights, who were facing a salary cap crunch.
Smith figures to be a near-identical replacement for Zucker on the second line with center Evgeni Malkin. Like Zucker, Smith is a strong — though hardly as ferocious — forechecker and has a knack for finding goals through a variety of means. In 78 games last season, Smith scored 56 points (26 goals, 30 assists) and even tallied the championship-clinching goal for the Golden Knights in June.
As far as finding a replacement for Guentzel, there are several viable but hardly ideal options.
Highly productive with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL, Alex Nylander, a former first-round pick (No. 8 overall) of the Buffalo Sabres in 2016, got a cup of coffee with the NHL roster late last season and showed some sporadic promise while filling an occasional top-six role. In nine NHL contests, he had two points (one goal, one assist).
Andreas Johnsson was a 20-goal scorer with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2018-19 when Dubas ran that team. After bouncing around with the Maple Leafs, New Jersey Devils and San Jose Sharks the past few seasons without similar success, Johnsson was brought to the Penguin by Dubas in July on a low-risk, one-year contract worth $800,000.
Radim Zohorna, who the Penguins lost on waivers during the 2022 preseason, returns on a one-year, two-way contract. Always full of intrigue given his fleet skating and 6-foot-6, 220-pound frame, Zohorna has been short on results during his brief interludes as an NHLer.
Matt Nieto, another free-agent signing in July, could be in the mix as a short-term replacement for Guentzel, but he is ideally suited to be a bottom-six energy winger and penalty killer. Splitting 2022-23 between the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche, Nieto posted 24 points (12 goals, 12 assists) in 81 games.
Drew O’Connor broke through as a full-time NHLer last season, and while he is capable of playing all three forward positions, he was predominantly deployed as a left winger. In 46 games last season, O’Connor had 11 points (five goals, six assists).
Acquired from the Canadiens as a spare part in the blockbuster trade that brought defenseman Erik Karlsson to the Penguins, Rem Pitlick can also man all three forward positions but was primarily utilized as a bottom-six left winger last season. In 46 games during the 2022-23 campaign, Pitlick recorded 15 points (six goals, nine assists).
Top-six right wingers Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust can be flipped to the left wing with ease but ideally, they will remain on the starboard side.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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