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.