The Pittsburgh Penguins acquired more than just a goal scoring winger in Reilly Smith.

Kyle Dubas' first draft day as the Pittsburgh Penguins President of Hockey Operations went according to the plan he laid out during his first day on the job a few weeks ago. The Penguins selected Brayden Yager with the 14th pick of the NHL Draft to bolster their prospect system. They also added a piece for next season's team a few hours earlier.

The Penguins acquired Reilly Smith from the Stanley Cup Champion Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for a 3rd round pick in 2024. Smith has two years remaining on his current contract and will cost the Penguins $5 million against the salary cap.

At 32-years-old, Smith doesn't add much speed compared to Jason Zucker, who played in Smith's presumptive roster spot next to Evgeni Malkin but will bring a few different traits to the Penguins' top six.

The one attribute the Penguins have been missing is the ability to score off the rush. Pittsburgh's offense was primarily created through cycling deep in the offensive zone last season, wearing down opposing teams using puck control and gathering rebounds. Smith's ability to create offense in transition and on the rush will give his line a different threat.

Smith also brings his penalty-killing acumen. He finished last season third on the Golden Knights in shorthanded ice time among forwards and added four shorthanded goals.

His ability on the penalty kill could also result in less shorthanded ice time for Bryan Rust, who saw his goal-scoring numbers drop last season due, in part, to his jump from 46 shorthanded minutes in 2021-22 to 129 in 2022-23.

Adding a top-six winger may not have been the Penguins' greatest need, but Dubas may have improved the top-six with the first trade of his tenure in Pittsburgh.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KvNyjSXNfOk[/embed]

Make sure you bookmark Inside the Penguins for the latest news, exclusive interviews, breakdowns and so much more!

Penguins Take Two More Finland Prospects in Seventh Round

Penguins Select Cooper Foster 174th Overall

Penguins Select Mikhail Ilyin 142nd Overall

Penguins Show Interest in Flames Defenseman Noah Hanifin

Penguins Select Emil Pieniniemi 91st Overall

• undefined
• undefined