Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon is putting the band back together, at least somewhat.
On Thursday, the Golden Knights completed a trade with the New York Rangers to bring forward Reilly Smith back to Vegas. The Rangers receive forward Brendan Brisson and the San Jose Sharks’ 2025 third-round pick in the deal. New York is also retaining half of Smith’s salary.
Smith has bounced around the league since being traded from Vegas to the Pittsburgh Penguins after the Golden Knights won the Stanley Cup in 2023.
The Rangers acquired Smith this past offseason from the Penguins for a 2027 second-round pick and 2025 fifth-round pick. The move did not work as anticipated, as Smith has struggled with ten goals and 29 points in 58 games. With Smith a pending unrestricted free agent after the season, the Rangers now get something out of him instead of losing him over the summer for nothing.
For the Golden Knights, Smith provides a sense of familiarity that would not be available for most other players.
Being part of the Golden Knights since the Expansion Draft in 2017, Smith joined forces with Jonathan Marchessault and William Karlsson to form the most famous line in the team’s young history. Smith has been on numerous playoff runs with the team, including both of their trips to the Stanley Cup Final in 2018 and 2023. In the latter, Smith had 14 points in 22 games, including the game-winning goal in the Cup-clinching Game 5 of the Final over the Florida Panthers.
McCrimmon is hoping Smith can hit the ground running as the team rides a hot streak, hoping it translates into another deep postseason run.
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