Bring back Glass. Play a bottom line of Glass - McLeod - Beleskey.
Go get McIlrath, and Bickel.
There, solved.
In case anyone needs it, /s.
edit: Re: Smith. For me he gets a look. I mean, not much other choice really. He's an "asset" costing a fair amount of cap who came into last season having slacked off and never caught up. Now, I don't have much hope. At best I think he becomes a serviceable 5-6 guy to ease in a rookie, playing limited minutes, who can also stand up for guys and clear the crease, with the occasional frustrating brain fart Detroit fans warned us about. I'd like at least that. I'm not hoping for more, nor an I even expecting this tbh. That said, not being physically prepared for an NHL/AHL season really messes guys up and they rarely come back from that mid-season. He's already clearly not great. Add that to his off-season and well, there you go.
But he's definitely getting a look unless we magically manage to move him and I don't see who wants him right now. Like it or not I'm pretty sure both Staal and Smith are on the team to start the season. If he's in shape and shows even a small amount of his Skjei chemistry, that's a pairing that will happen a bit. As it is it's hard to fathom pairings.
It's pretty awesome that we're rebuilding, yes, but we're also paying Girardi, Staal and Smith a combined $13M (well, $13,050,000) next year.