2:23 p.m.: The Knights and Rangers have made the trade official as reported.
12:58 p.m.: The Golden Knights are acquiring winger Reilly Smith from the Rangers in exchange for the Sharks’ 2025 third-round pick and forward prospect Brendan Brisson, Larry Brooks of the New York Post reports. Vegas doesn’t have the space to accommodate Smith’s already-reduced $3.75MM cap hit, so New York is retaining 50% of his salary, according to Frank Seravalli of Daily Faceoff. The Golden Knights have an open roster spot and won’t need to make a corresponding transaction.
It’s a reunion for Smith and Vegas, where he was a top-six fixture from the Knights’ inception through their run to the 2023 Stanley Cup championship. Cap constraints following the championship run influenced Vegas to deal Smith, who turns 34 next month, to the Penguins for a third-round pick. His tenure in Pittsburgh was underwhelming, limited to 13-27–40 in 76 games – halving his goal production from his final season with the Knights despite seeing consistent second-line deployment with the Pens alongside Evgeni Malkin.
Multiple reports indicated Smith wasn’t pleased with the move, which he couldn’t block with only a 12-team no-trade list. In addition to coming off a championship and playing a formative role in Vegas’ development as a franchise, he’d signed a three-year, $15MM extension with Vegas the prior offseason. The Penguins, content to find someone else to replace Smith’s minutes, flipped him to the Rangers last summer for a second- and fifth-round pick while retaining 25% of his salary.
Smith’s production didn’t rebound at all in the Big Apple. He’s scoring goals at the exact rate per game, and his point-per-game pace has dropped from 0.53 with the Pens to 0.50 with the Blueshirts. The veteran has 10-19–29 through 58 games and is on pace to register his fewest shots on goal in a season since his rookie year with the Stars in 2012-13.
During his first six-year tenure in Vegas, Smith averaged 26 goals and 59 points per 82 games. It’s unlikely he captures quite that much production on a per-game basis down the stretch given his recent decline, but he adds a familiar name to a bit of a hodgepodge group of wingers in Nevada. The team turned to the bargain bin on the free agent market last summer after losing Conn Smythe winner Jonathan Marchessault, center Chandler Stephenson, and serviceable depth scorer Michael Amadio to free agency, picking up names like Victor Olofsson and Tanner Pearson on the cheap. They also inked veteran Brandon Saad mid-season after he mutually terminated his contract with the Blues.
They’ve gotten solid showings out of Olofsson and Pearson. They are enjoying a 24-goal breakout campaign from Pavel Dorofeyev, but depth on the wings remained the Golden Knights’ most enormous hole on paper heading into the trade deadline. They’ll address it here instead of a more significant, complex acquisition like star Mikko Rantanen, who they were linked to this morning. That aligns with what general manager Kelly McCrimmon predicted for his club earlier this week.
Dealing Smith continues the Rangers’ unloading of pending UFAs for futures ahead of the deadline, but that will mark the extent of their selling as they remain in the Eastern Conference wild card race. They also shipped out defenseman Ryan Lindgren and winger Jimmy Vesey to the Avalanche over the weekend.
The most intriguing part of their return lies in Brisson, whom Vegas selected 29th overall in the 2020 draft. The 23-year-old winger was expected to compete for a roster spot out of camp this season amid the Knights’ aforementioned turnover. While he landed the gig, he had no points in nine games before being sent to AHL Henderson. His minor-league performance this season has been nothing short of disastrous, limited to 5-14–19 in 45 games with a team-worst -24 rating. His trade value was slashed as a result.
New York hopes Brisson can rebound to his 2023-24 form with their affiliate in Hartford. He looked promising with 38 points in 52 AHL games last year and even tallied a respectable 2-6–8 scoring line in 15 games of NHL action, the first of his career. With the move, the Golden Knights have now traded all of their first-round selections in franchise history outside of last year’s pickup, Trevor Connelly.
Smith’s absence will also continue an expanded youth movement in New York, which really started when the Rangers began scratching Smith for trade protection a few days ago. There’s more guaranteed ice time for names like Brett Berard and Brennan Othmann, and potentially even Brisson depending on his first impression in the AHL, down the stretch.
As for Vegas, they now have just roughly $500K in cap space, per PuckPedia. Unless they determine William Karlsson’s or Shea Theodore’s injuries will hold them out for the rest of the regular season, there’s no LTIR flexibility for them to dip into.
Image courtesy of USA Today Sports.
Reilly Smith going back to Vegas seems rather fitting especially since that’s where he shined the most & hasn’t had that success since. So this could be a bit of a reboot for Smith.
This trade deadline seems to have a theme to it with former players going back to their former teams from JT Miller to New York, Yanni Gourde to Tampa & Now, Smith to Vegas. Kinda of funny, really.
And I could see Luke schenn going back to the leafs
Finally.
That San Jose third is essentially no different than a low second rounder from a contender. The Rangers traded a 2nd and a 5th for him, you could argue they got more than that as a return. Or at least equal value. Brisson just turned 23, has played well in the AHL, and was a first round pick.
Smith has always been a good playoff performer but man he was invisible this year, just did nothing.
He keeps playing worse and worse and getting traded for more and more.
We got him for a third, he was lousy for us and then we got a 2nd and a 5th for him.
IIRC, the Knights got him for free when he was young and good. His trade value has never been calibrated properly.
Was he an expansion pick?
I believe Marchessault was the actual pick while Smith was dealt for futures in a side deal to take Marchessault instead of another player.
Damn. What a clinic VGK put on for that draft.
It was a negotiated deal so Florida wouldn’t lose Alex Petrovic. Lmao
bit of an Overpay by Vegas
“66TheNumberOfTheBest
4 days ago
Why would any team other than VGK trade for him? He just stopped caring after leaving there.”
I guess the scouts saw this, as well.
Yup. Professional scouts get all their info from comments sections.
So close and yet.
Drury doing nothing but getting rid of future UFAs
Not riding himself of the core problems…
What are those problems?
Nearly everything? The holes are massive, especially on the backend, and the already aging vets are going to be even slower next year. Fox has lost a step and is no longer a 1D. Panarin cannot operate in tight spaces like he used to and turns the puck over every shift with stick-to-tape passes — to the opponent. I’m recently convinced (more recently than most) that Laffy needs to go (if anyone will take him at this point) — he’s officially a bust and an anchor on this team’s success. Kreider is on the decline, healthwise, and may never make it back from back problems. Zibanejad, though better lately after he moved to J.T. Miller’s wing, is trending down as well.
The core problem is that J.T. Miller is 31, and he and Cuylle are the only pieces to really build around. And Shesterkin, though he’s probably way overpaid.
If you’re expecting a massive rebuild, you’re rooting for the wrong organization. They didn’t trade for Miller because they’re in rebuild mode. Besides, they’re playing pretty good hockey of late.
Expecting the Rangers to blow up the core midseason was never realistic. Any trades for the underperforming players would be sell low deals and the contracts are too expensive to move midseason. I’d fully expect one of, if not both, of Mika and Kreider to get moved in the offseason.
I love the Rangers.
I just don’t think this team is constructed to be anywhere near a real contender, unfortunately. I think they had a three-year window where they did pretty well and may have been a contender, but that window has closed and it’s downhill from here. I’d be happy to eat my words, but last night was symptomatic of the whole season — they’re finding ways to lose.
I think they’re obviously trying to re-tool, but they won’t be able to do that properly until they get Panarin off the books and shelter Fox, and by that time, Miller will be old. If you look at the roster construction of past winners, they all have big tough D-men (Ekblad, Pietrangelo, Hedman), true 1Cs, and secondary scoring — that’s what it takes to win in the 2020s. Only the Lightning had a tier 1 goalie.
The Rangers don’t really have these things beyond Igor, and the core is aging and they’re not even power-play merchants anymore.
Yeah, I didn’t expect them to blow up the core — though they did dismantle some of the dead weight. Trading Trouba, Lindy, and Vesey was a good start. I’m not super down on Drury, but I think he was dealt a bad hand that he made worse with rich contracts. I don’t blame him that much though. No one could’ve expected Mika to drop off like he did. Nor Laffy to completely stop growing.
You just knew it would happen (insert favorite song about going home). :)
Brisson could be a steal in this trade.
I like that they are taking a chance that brisson pans out. If his past is any indication it appears he starts each level as a rather pedestrian player that becomes a race car shortly after. He just needs to be trusted.
Glad to have Smith back but…. Brisson? Ouch.
Traded every first round pick ever. That’s crazy.