There's an abundance of evidence to suggest the Penguins envision Ty Smith permanently slotting into the left side of the No. 3 defense pairing next to Jan Rutta, but due to the Penguins being right up against the salary cap and Smith being exempt from waivers to start the season, Smith currently finds himself in the AHL with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Smith will be back, no doubt, and it might not even take long, but for now it's a battle between P.O Joseph and Chad Ruhwedel for the opening next to Rutta as the Penguins' No.