The waiting is over, as the New York Rangers trade Reilly Smith back to the Vegas Golden Knights. In return, the Rangers will receive a 2025 3rd round pick and prospect Brendan Brisson, who will report to Hartford. The Rangers sat Smith for each of the last two games for roster management purposes, as General Manager Chris Drury was giving Smith the bubble wrap treatment. The Blueshirts will also retain 50% of Smith’s $3.75 million cap hit ($1.875 million).
The Rangers acquired Smith over the summer from Pittsburgh for a 2027 2nd round pick and a 2025 5th round pick. Over the course of 58 games, Smith put up a respectable line of 10-18-28 while trying to drag both Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider around for the majority of the season. He still managed respectable possession numbers, but the lack of powerplay time impacted his stat line.
It’s fair to say this is an underwhelming trade, especially since the Rangers gave up more value to land him in the offseason. Then again, no one could have predicted just how bad the Rangers were going to be early on. There’s another universe where the locker room issues don’t drag the entire season down the tubes and Smith is actually a useful asset.
Such is life, sometimes. Smith was a solid, if underappreciated, Ranger.
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