The Vegas Golden Knights did not make any additional moves in the hours leading up to the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline after landing Reilly Smith from the New York Rangers on Thursday and signing Brandon Saad to a one-year contract on Jan. 31.
Despite rumors that said the Golden Knights were in on most of the top trade deadline targets, general manager Kelly McCrimmon said Vegas was not interested in making additional moves.
“I’ve been tremendously encouraged by the growth of the game of some of our younger players,” McCrimmon said in his media availablity after the deadline, citing Pavel Dorofeyev, Brett Howden and Keegan Kolesar as prime examples. He also said Victor Olofsson and Tanner Pearson have contributed to the team’s success but that the club was interested in adding a veteran winger.
Vegas did just that with Saad and Smith.
“His priority was going to an organization committed to winning and that could win,” McCrimmon said about Saad, who elected to sign with Vegas on Jan. 31 after being bought out by St. Louis. “He looks to be a good fit, looks to be the type of player that we were looking for. A two-time Stanley Cup champion, so he’s got good playoff experience, good playoff pedigree. So I felt that was a good add.”
McCrimmon said that Smith offers versatility and utility because he can play both wings as well as on both special teams units. “The transition, the fit is completely seamless. His teammates are thrilled to see him, he’s thrilled to be part of our organization again, and I think it was just the ideal fit in terms of what we were trying to do.”
On Vegas’ Trade Deadline Special on KnightTime+, McCrimmon said that Vegas traded for Smith “because he’s a good two-way player that has a lot to offer. I think we’re going to get the best version of Reilly on our team. I know that he had great chemistry with the players in our organization. We expect that he’ll play really well.”
It was a busy 24 hours for other teams in the Western Conference, especially Central Division heavyweights Dallas (Mikko Rantanen), Colorado (Brock Nelson, Charlie Coyle) and Winnipeg (Brandon Tanev, Luke Schenn), but the Golden Knights decided to follow through on their promise to be “modest” after last year’s acquisitions of Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin.
“You see how well Hertl and Hanifin are playing for our team right now,” McCrimmon said. “That was the rationale behind the trades last year, that it was also going to benefit this year’s team.”
The Smith deal was in the works for several days.
“We talked with [Rangers general manager] Chris Drury about it for a period of time,” McCrimmon said. “We evaluated the forwards that were available to us, and [Smith] was the guy we wanted, so that’s why we moved on it. Yesterday just felt like it was the time to do it. We had had talks all week and decided that Reilly was our guy.”
After six seasons with the Golden Knights, Smith was traded to Pittsburgh mere weeks after Vegas hoisted the Stanley Cup back in June 2023.
“He left a Stanley Cup champion shortly after we won the Cup, so that was not easy for anybody,” McCrimmon said. “He was a complete pro about it when it happened. I think his heart is here. He’s thrilled to be back.”
Smith, who never sold his house in Vegas, said he initially found out about the trade in a text from his agent and that he was in “disbelief” at first but that he and his family are very excited to be returning to Vegas.
“I wanted to make sure I wasn’t getting Punk’d initially,” Smith joked. “I didn’t want to start sending out a bunch of texts and phone calls and then have everything come back on me. I tried to play it cool for a little bit and let the dust settle. But I’m really excited to be back in this group.”
The transition should be relatively straightforward.
“To be able to come back here and have so much familiarity, it definitely feels like coming home a little bit, so that’s special,” Smith said. “To have so many guys here from when I was here a couple years ago is really nice, and all the new guys I’ve met have been nothing but welcoming.”
The Golden Knights have 21 games remaining in the regular season and are gearing up for what should be a very competitive and tightly-contested battle in the Western Conference.
McCrimmon believes the recent moves addressed team needs and improved an already strong team.
“When I look at the NHL, Washington and Winnipeg are the best in the East and the best in the West, and the reason is really that they’ve been just that much more consistent. I don’t know that they’re better than the next three, four or five teams on each side, but they’ve had remarkably consistent years. We had that exact type of year going until the 4th or 5th of January. In January, we were 6-6-3, so you fall back a little bit by doing that.”
McCrimmon said the Golden Knights have played well since the 4 Nations Face-Off break but that Vegas has “to keep getting better, that’s the whole challenge here as you go down the stretch and into the playoffs. Last year, it never felt like we got our lineup together enough in those final 25 games. When you got to the playoffs, the lineup card was all in order and it was a heck of a team, but we lost that body of work where your team really starts to gel.”
Though the Golden Knights have injuries, most players are nearing a return, and Shea Theodore is expected to be back before the end of the regular season.
“We’re in first place, and that can change, we all know that. But it’s a good position to be in with 21 games to play. We really want to focus on playing well here down the stretch. … Starting next week, it’s a grind right through the end of the season and April. … You hope you get healthier, you hope you are able to use your bench and use your whole lineup when you get to that part of the season.”
Adding Smith will only help.
Smith arrived in Las Vegas late last night, was on the ice this morning and will be in the lineup tonight.
“There’s so many different things that can happen,” Smith said. “Me and my wife, we tried to figure out all the different possibilities of where this past week could take us, and [returning to Vegas] was at the top of our list. How things worked out, we couldn’t have been happier. So it’s definitely been a whirlwind over the last 24 hours, but it’s been a great whirlwind,” Smith said.
Unsurprisingly, the fan reaction has been positive.
Smith joked, “I think I was recognized more in the five minutes after I landed last night at 1:30 than I have in the last year and a half. The fanbase here has been so special to myself and my family. They welcomed us here when we were here eight years ago and made it a home for us, and it just seems like this town is filled with great people.”
Smith is eager to get started as the Golden Knights move forward in their hunt for a second title.
“Not having the success that we had here is definitely a little bit tough,” Smith said about his time in Pittsburgh and New York. “I’m excited about that fact of coming back here. The playoffs are nice; it’s something that I always feel brings the best out of me, and something I want to help this team push towards.”
He will have a chance to do so against one of his former teams tonight when the Golden Knights host the Penguins as Vegas looks to improve to 4-0-0 on its current five-game homestand.
Cole Schwindt will return to the lineup, but Olofsson is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury that head coach Bruce Cassidy said should be “very short-term.” Raphael Lavoie is out with an upper-body injury and is considered day-to-day.
Smith will start on the fourth line with Nicolas Roy and Schwindt and will play on both the power play and penalty kill, but Cassidy said Smith will move around the lineup.
“[Smith] didn’t get in until late, so first of all, we have to sort of temper our expectations for the first game,” Cassidy said. “We know what he is. We’ve seen it here for years. He’s a veteran player that’s had success in this league, so tonight’s not going to move the needle for us.”
Cassidy said Smith likely will play with William Karlsson when he returns, which, according to McCrimmon, should happen at some point on the upcoming road trip. Theodore remains out week-to-week but is expected to be back in the lineup before the end of the regular season. “He’s going to be back in time to certainly get his feet back underneath him,” McCrimmon said.
The lines during Friday’s morning skate were as follows:
Tanner Pearson — Jack Eichel — Mark Stone
Brandon Saad — Tomas Hertl — Pavel Dorofeyev
Ivan Barbashev — Brett Howden — Keegan Kolesar
Reilly Smith — Nicolas Roy — Cole Schwindt
Nicolas Hague — Alex Pietrangelo
Noah Hanifin — Zach Whitecloud
Brayden McNabb — Kaedan Korczak
Ilya Samsonov will start.
Coincidentally, Smith’s old jersey number is available since Brendan Brisson — who switched to No. 19 this year (with Smith’s permission) — was included in the trade.
The Golden Knights now have four Original Misfits on the roster with Karlsson, Smith, Theodore and Brayden McNabb.
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