Headlines

Go To MLB Trade Rumors
Go To Hoops Rumors

Reilly Smith

Depth Wingers Will Define Golden Knights’ Summer

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Vegas Golden Knights are back in familiar ground – bounced from a hardy playoff run that didn’t have the legs, and gearing up for a summer with minimal cap space. It’s a situation the young franchise has already landed in, and weaseled out of, multiple times before – but the 2025 summer will offer a particular challenge. Vegas is only projected to have $9.62MM in cap space this summer, per PuckPedia. They’ll have to use that money to redefine the bottom-six, with seven different depth wingers all set to hit the open market this summer.

Some of those pending free agents should be easy to re-sign. Jonas Rondbjerg has averaged just 19 NHL games a season over the last four years, and has just 10 points in 76 career games to show for it. He’s a bump-and-grind AHL winger who shouldn’t cost more than league-minimum to re-up. Much of the same can be said for Cole Schwindt, who seemed mounted for a breakout with 42 NHL games this year, but ended the year with only eight points.

But the mission quickly gets complicated as Vegas looks to parse through the remaining names. Original Golden Knight Reilly Smith seems destined on re-signing with the club, after making a return from the New York Rangers at the 2025 Trade Deadline. He scored 69 points in 134 games in one-and-a-half seasons away from Sin City, and closed the season with 15 points in 32 games in a muddied role with the Golden Knights. Smith had a career-year in his last full season with Vegas – netting 26 goals and 56 points in the Cup-winning 2022-23 season – and age hasn’t seemed to slow him down one bit. With only a few years left in his career, a modest deal for both sides could ensure Smith plays his 1,000th career game, and retires, in the city he’s spent the bulk of his NHL career.

Victor Olofsson also seems worthy of another trial run. He wasn’t nearly as productive as Vegas might’ve hoped for last summer, but 15 goals and 29 points in 56 games is still a commendable season. That put Olofsson on an 82-game pace of 22 goals and 42 points, which would have been the most he’s scored since notching his career-high 49 points in the 2021-22 season. Olofsson also made the first playoff appearance of his career this season, and managed a commendable four points in nine games. Those are impressive results for a man receiving a $1.08MM salary. An assured role will likely require a boost in pay, but Vegas could hold onto good value even with a slight raise.

Smith and Olofsson could take up the bulk of what Vegas is hoping to spend on building out their bottom-six. That could leave a tough decision between Brandon Saad and Alexander Holtz, with pros and cons underlining each. Saad is a true veteran of the NHL and managed 14 points in 29 games with the Golden Knights while battling around routine injuries. He’s scored more than 20 goals and 40 points in two of the last four seasons – intercut by a season of 37 points and 30 points. Those aren’t bad numbers for a 32-year-old winger, especially one with Stanley Cup precedent and game-1,000 nearing.

Holtz is on the other side of his career, with just 46 points in 163 career games and a career-high of 28 points set last season. He only scored 12 points in 53 games this year, as he continued to struggle for ground in the lineup through a move to the Golden Knights. But Holtz was a seventh-overall pick just five years ago, and is still anticipating a breakout season. He’s under more team control as a restricted free agent, and would be a cheaper buy than Saad, but also brings plenty more risk to a Golden Knights club closer to another Stanley Cup run than any sort of rebuild.

Three modestly priced extensions, and a pair of league-minimum deals, will give Vegas plenty to work with as they build a lineup for next season. It also leaves just enough room for a cheap free agent addition. Any re-signed wingers would bolster the flanks behind Pavel Dorofeyev, Ivan Barbashev, Nicolas Roy, and Brett Howden – giving Vegas a very similar makeup to what they’ve rolled out for the last few seasons. But in deciding who to bring back, the Golden Knights will be laying out their preferences between original heritage, shooting luck, veteran presence, and young potential. What they make of those profiles could go a long way in defining Vegas’ chances at maintaining their yearly playoff presence in the seasons to come.

Photo courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

Evening Notes: Tocchet, Ekholm, Pickard, Smith

at CDT | by 9 Comments

A new voice on the bench may not be the only reason the Philadelphia Flyers aggressively pursued Rick Tocchet as their next head coach. According to General Manager Daniel Brière (via Jordan Hall of NBC Sports Philadelphia), Tocchet’s presence in Philadelphia makes the team more attractive to free agent targets, and agents have already started calling.

Brière’s statement is some gamesmanship on his part. Teams can’t begin talking about contracts until a few days before the free agency period starts on July 1st, with that being the first day contracts can be officially registered. Brière never said the Flyers were talking terms with any players in particular, and it’s unlikely a General Manager would openly admit to tampering.

Still, there may be a hint of truth in Brière’s claim. At the end of the regular season, he expressed his desire to add to Philadelphia’s roster this summer, rather than continuing to reduce it. They’ll have the financial flexibility to do so, as the Flyers are expected to enter the free agency period with approximately $25MM, with only a few key pending restricted free agents to re-sign.

Other evening notes:

  • TSN’s Ryan Rishaug shared a note from head coach Kris Knoblauch that the Edmonton Oilers aren’t expecting defenseman Mattias Ekholm or netminder Calvin Pickard back at the start of the Western Conference Final. Still, Knoblauch left open the possibility that both could return in the playoffs’ penultimate series, which would give the Oilers a major boost to their Stanley Cup aspirations, especially Ekholm.
  • If veteran winger Reilly Smith has his way, he’d remain with the Vegas Golden Knights beyond this season (Tweet Link). Even with a few players coming off the books in a few weeks, it’ll be incredibly challenging to find a spot for Smith next year. The Golden Knights already have $85.885MM committed to next year’s roster, and they’d need Smith to take a hefty pay cut to make the money work.

Golden Knights Acquire Reilly Smith From Rangers

at CDT | by 24 Comments

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.

Rangers Holding Reilly Smith Out Today For Trade Deadline Reasons

at CDT | by 16 Comments

The New York Rangers are reportedly holding forward Reilly Smith out of tonight’s game against the Nashville Predators for trade deadline reasons (as per Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic). Smith is a pending UFA and given the Rangers current position in the standings it’s fair to assume he will be traded before Friday’s NHL Trade Deadline.

Smith was acquired by the Rangers last summer from the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a second-round pick in 2027 and a conditional fifth round pick in 2025. The Penguins picked up $1.25MM of Smith’s $5MM salary in the trade, meaning that the 33-year-old is counting $3.75MM against the salary cap this season.

The former Stanley Cup Champion was terrific for the Vegas Golden Knights during their 2023 run to the title and has posted strong underlying numbers throughout his career. However, he has seen those numbers fall to career lows this season and has tallied just 10 goals and 19 assists in 58 games.

With the trade market being a seller’s market at the moment, it’s easy to see why the Rangers have been so active. New York is unlikely to make the playoffs and can ill afford to let free agents walk if they have any hopes of re-tooling next season.

Any team looking to acquire Smith will likely do so with a top nine role in mind for the 14-year NHL veteran. Smith is still capable of driving offense off the rush but is probably best suited for a role on the third line of a strong forward group. He can still take second line minutes in a pinch but probably shouldn’t be counted on to drive play for a Stanley Cup contender.

Examining The Rangers’ Potential Trade Candidates

at CDT | by 5 Comments

Arthur Staple and Peter Baugh of The Athletic believe that the New York Rangers could potentially net a substantial trade package at this year’s NHL Trade Deadline should they move pending free-agent defenseman Ryan Lindgren. Rangers’ general manager Chris Drury has been remaking the Rangers on the fly for the past few months and likely isn’t done as we approach the deadline.

Lindgren turns 27 today and has endured a difficult season that began when he broke his jaw in the preseason, causing him to miss the first five games of the regular season. He’s been more of an offensive contributor this year but has been uncharacteristically careless with the puck, turning it over 53 times in just 50 games. Lindgren signed a one-year $4.5MM extension last summer, and it appears as though he will test the free-agent market. Despite the uneven year, Staple and Baugh believe that Lindgren will still be a valuable asset if the Rangers opt to sell in a few weeks. It’s hard to disagree, given that it appears to be a seller’s market, as both the Penguins and Sharks have been able to acquire first-round picks in trade packages involving defensemen.

Lindgren is not the only player the Rangers could move to acquire future assets. Reilly Smith and Jimmy Vesey are two other names that Staple and Baugh mention.

Smith would be looking at his third trade in two years if he is moved again, but with an expiring contract and a track record of decent depth scoring, there is a belief that he could nab the Rangers a mid-round pick. He has struggled to recapture his scoring touch since winning the Stanley Cup with Vegas back in 2023. This season, the 33-year-old has ten goals and 16 assists in 54 games.

Vesey, on the other hand, has publicly stated his desire to play more, so he would certainly welcome a move to a different organization. The 33-year-old is coming off back-to-back 25+ point seasons but has struggled to get anything going offensively this year, tallying just three goals and an assist in 30 games. Vesey could be another candidate to net the Rangers a mid-round draft pick.

When the Rangers return to action after the break, they will have seven games to decide on a direction heading into the NHL Trade Deadline, and given the way their campaign has unfolded, it’s fair to wonder what other headlines the team will make this season.

Metro Notes: Kreider, Chytil, Smith, Tatar, Smith

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

The New York Rangers saw the return of Filip Chytil and Chris Kreider (X Link) to the lineup this afternoon in their win against the Montreal Canadiens. According to Vince Z. Mercogliano, the organization surprisingly made Reilly Smith a healthy scratch to open up a roster spot for the returning forwards.

Smith had largely been operating on the team’s second line but hasn’t produced up to that standard in recent games. He got off to a solid start to his tenure with the Rangers organization scoring two goals and eight points through his first 11 games.  In the following 11 games, he’s been much more disappointing with one goal and four points with a -3 rating.

Chytil and Kreider went scoreless in their return to the ice this afternoon though the former did manage a 53.8% faceoff rate. Chytil’s most recent game came on November 14th against the San Jose Sharks although much of his injury absence was due to getting cleared for a concussion by multiple medical teams.

Other notes from the Metro Division:

  • Jim Biringer of RG Media shared that the New Jersey Devils will be without forward Tomáš Tatar this evening due to a lower-body injury. The ailment was likely suffered in the team’s most recent game yesterday evening against the Detroit Red Wings. Tatar has recorded three goals and nine points in his first 26 games for the Devils since the 2022-23 NHL season.
  • In what is becoming a theme for the organization this season, the Carolina Hurricanes have again reassigned defenseman Ty Smith to their AHL affiliate, the Chicago Wolves. It’s becoming apparent that Smith will serve primarily as a practice player for the Hurricanes this season barring injury to the regular six defensemen on the active roster. The constant movement from Carolina to Chicago has cost him playing time in the AHL as Smith has only managed to suit up in four games for the AHL Wolves this season.

Metropolitan Notes: Grzelcyk, Roslovic, Smith, Pesce

at CDT | by Leave a Comment

Matt Grzelcyk made a name for himself in the NHL while serving as Charlie McAvoy’s usual defense partner with the Bruins. The 30-year-old had great success in that role until last season, when his offensive production dipped to 11 points in 63 games, and his possession numbers were below average since the 2018-19 campaign.

Now looking to rediscover himself with the Penguins after inking a one-year, $2.75MM deal as an unrestricted free agent, Grzelcyk may get a similar top-pairing opportunity to open the season alongside Kris Letang, writes the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review’s Seth Rorabaugh. The Massachusetts native has spent most of camp alongside the two-time Stanley Cup champ, who he called “such a great player.”

“I’m just trying to be a sponge around him,” Grzelcyk continued. “He has a ton of knowledge to give about the game and what he would expect from his partner. Just trying to learn here. And start to build chemistry.”

While cast as a stay-at-home partner for a more offensively well-rounded talent, Grzelcyk does have decent puck-moving skills in his own right. That was a common theme among the Penguins’ offseason additions, especially on defense, which also included former Islander Sebastian Aho.

There’s more from the Metropolitan Division:

  • Another free-agent signing looking to get a crack in a top-line complementary role is Jack Roslovic, who’s settling in on the Hurricanes’ first line alongside Sebastian Aho and Seth Jarvis, relays The Athletic’s Cory Lavalette. If it sticks, it would be quite the step up in responsibility for Roslovic, who’s been a middle-six fixture around the league for the past few seasons but has never held down a consistent top-line role. The 27-year-old signed a one-year, $2.75MM pact in Carolina in early July, and he’ll likely be used in different situations throughout the season as the Canes look to replace the offense lost by the departures of Jake Guentzel, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Stefan Noesen, and Teuvo Teräväinen.
  • The Athletic’s Arthur Staple is optimistic about Reilly Smith’s chances of clicking with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad as the Rangers’ top-line right wing. That’s been a revolving door for the past few years, with the aforementioned Roslovic getting a post-deadline crack at it last season. But Smith, 33, has a long history of success in complementary top-six roles – long enough to quell concerns about his underwhelming 13-goal, 40-point season with the Penguins last year, Staple opines.
  • The Devils will kick off their regular season without top offseason addition Brett Pesce. The defender didn’t make the trip to Prague for New Jersey’s Global Series games against the Sabres, the team’s Amanda Stein confirms. Pesce, 29, skated Friday for the first time in camp but is still listed as week-to-week while recovering from a fibula fracture he sustained in April while with the Hurricanes. He had 13 points and a +10 rating in 70 games with Carolina last year and signed a six-year, $33MM deal to serve as the Devils’ No. 2 right-shot option on defense behind Dougie Hamilton in free agency.

Rangers Notes: Smith, Trouba, Kakko

at CDT | by 3 Comments

Recently acquired New York Rangers forward Reilly Smith appears likely to get an early season opportunity alongside forwards Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad (as per Peter Baugh of The Athletic). The former Stanley Cup Champion had a down year last season in Pittsburgh posting 13 goals and 27 assists in 76 games but is just a year removed from tallying 26 goals and 30 assists in 78 games with the Vegas Golden Knights. He isn’t an elite scorer by any stretch, but Smith is dependable and could be a good complementary piece on the Rangers’ top line.

Baugh also touched on Smith’s pending free agency saying that the Rangers will likely wait until the end of the season to see if the 33-year-old is a fit with the team long-term. Baugh feels that the only thing that could push the Rangers to sign Smith to an extension sooner would be if Smith is a perfect fit in the Rangers lineup.

In other Rangers notes:

  • Peter Baugh of The Athletic writes that Rangers’ defenseman Jacob Trouba is excited and optimistic about the upcoming season despite the trade winds that swirled around him for much of the summer. The Rangers captain dealt with injuries last season and struggled in the playoffs, taking bad penalties and having mental lapses. It appears likely that Trouba’s dip in play means he will start the season on the Rangers’ third pairing (as per Arthur Staple), which could benefit the 30-year-old as he will play against easier competition and could see a drop-in average ice time.
  • Arthur Staple believes that former second-overall pick Kaapo Kakko will lineup on the Rangers’ third line to start the year alongside Filip Chytil and Will Cuylle. Kakko probably won’t get much in the way of playing time on special teams which will limit his offensive opportunities and the possibility of working his way up higher in the Rangers lineup. A full season with Chytil could help Kakko get back to the 40-point pace he displayed in 2022-23, and possibly help him avoid hearing his name in trade rumors once again as he did for much of last season.

Morning Notes: Red Wings, Hakanpää, Smith

at CDT | by 1 Comment

The Red Wings may have the third-most projected cap space in the league three weeks into free agency (PuckPedia), but that’s an artificially high number. That’s because left winger Lucas Raymond and right-shot defenseman Moritz Seider, each the top RFAs remaining at their respective positions, still need new deals and could take up almost all of their $17.65MM left to spend. In a Tuesday morning mailbag, The Athletic’s Max Bultman examined why the duo remain unsigned.

Long-term deals are likely the preferred outcome for both, Bultman writes, but a lack of solid recent comparables could be plugging up the works. That’s because many of their peers signed long-term extensions in a flat-cap environment, while Raymond and Seider are presumably pushing for increased cap hits with more certainty regarding a rising upper limit over the life of their deals. Bultman writes there’s “still some potential for sticker shock on the team side,” a reasonable prediction considering Evolving Hockey projects eight-year deals for both to fall in the $8MM range.

Other things worth keeping an eye on as the NHL’s offseason continues:

  • Out of the flurry of signings reported on July 1, a notable one has yet to be made official. That’s defenseman Jani Hakanpää, who presumably has a two-year, $3MM deal agreed upon, per multiple reports. But the Finnish blue-liner is still dealing with the effects of a knee injury that sidelined him for the last month of the regular season plus the entirety of the Stars’ playoff run. It required arthroscopic surgery, which Dallas general manager Jim Nill confirmed the defender underwent before reaching the open market. There hasn’t been anything new on the Hakanpää front since a report from TSN’s Darren Dreger two weeks ago that there were “growing concerns” about his health. Expect more clarity on his contractual situation closer to training camp.
  • After a tough season with the Penguins, veteran winger Reilly Smith could find himself in a top-line role with the Rangers come opening night, writes NHL.com’s David Satriano. The defending Presidents’ Trophy winners have a demonstrable hole at right wing in their top six and were on the hunt for a more offensively-inclined partner for Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad at even strength. Smith, 33, was limited to 13 goals and 40 points in 76 games last season in Pittsburgh. That’s likely not the high-octane punch the Blueshirts are looking for, but it would be an upgrade over the rotating cast of Kaapo Kakko, Jack Roslovic and Blake Wheeler that held the role last season. Smith “probably will be given the first chance” to fill that vacancy after being acquired via trade, Satriano posits, but it could end up being their top trade deadline wish list item should he fail to make an impact.

Rangers Acquire Reilly Smith From Penguins

at CDT | by 15 Comments

The Rangers are expected to acquire winger Reilly Smith in a trade with the Penguins, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Pittsburgh is receiving a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick in return, The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman reports. The teams confirmed the second-rounder is in 2027 and the fifth-rounder is a conditional 2025 selection. The Penguins are retaining 25% of Smith’s salary, bringing his cap hit down from $5MM to $3.75MM for New York. The conditional 2025 fifth-rounder will be the worse of the two picks New York owns in that round – theirs and the Wild’s.

The Penguins are moving on from Smith after just one season, having acquired him in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick during the 2023 NHL Draft. Smith went on to total 13 goals and 40 points, failing to translate his strong scoring upside to a shakier role with the Penguins. He was much more robust in Vegas; one of many players to see a breakout year in Vegas’ inaugural season, scoring 22 goals and 60 points in 67 games and adding 22 points in 20 postseason games. He held onto the scoring through his next five years with the Golden Knights, consistently rivaling 50-point pace and even twice topping 25 goals.

Smith has developed into a capable middle-six scorer, whose offense held up even amidst an inconsistent role in Pittsburgh. What’s better, he’s an unrestricted free agent next summer, giving the Rangers a chance to test out his roster fit before committing to him long-term. The Rangers have rotated through veteran scorers over the last few seasons, cycling in players like Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Blake Wheeler. Smith will be the latest iteration, set for the same role in the lineup as his predecessors.

But unlike those before him, Smith offers the perk of playoff consistency, having totaled 26 goals and 79 points across 106 postseason appearances, including 14 points in 22 games during Vegas’ 2023 Stanley Cup run. The Rangers have boasted some of the best offenses in the league over the last few seasons, only to fall short in the Eastern Conference Finals in both 2022 and 2024. A lack of goal-scoring depth has proven the fault both times, forcing New York to lean on, and quickly tire out, their stars.

Smith could also provide a good shot to match Alexis Lafreniere’s quick playmaking, with the pair likely bound for New York’s second line. Lafreniere was among the most polarizing Rangers late in the season, scoring eight goals and 14 points in 16 playoff games after netting a career-high 28 goals and 57 points in the regular season. Veteran additions like Smith could point towards New York’s investment in yet another young star, though that will ultimately sit with how Peter Laviolette chooses to deploy his top-six.

Pro Hockey Rumors is not affiliated with National Hockey League, NHL or NHL.com

scroll to top