Reilly Smith: Will The Golden Knights Re-Acquire Him?
What will the Vegas Golden Knights do during trade season? Some teams already got a head start on the March 8th, 2024 NHL Trade Deadline. Most notably the red-hot Vancouver Canucks who acquired Elias Lindholm. Vancouver also leads the Pacific division. Will the VGK add anybody in pursuit of defending their Stanley Cup Trophy? Maybe it starts by re-acquiring an old friend. Reilly Smith will now enter the chat.
Jessie Granger of The Athletic posted an article (don’t click I’ll share the information you need to know. Just say no to The Athletic.) recently describing what Vegas will do at the deadline. It sure sounds like Vegas wants to acquire a forward and their preference is that the OG Misfit returns to the lineup.
“The idea of the Penguins returning Smith to Vegas isn’t far-fetched. Consider these realities:
• Smith hasn’t clicked with the Penguins and, after seemingly having some real chemistry with Malkin in the early going, he not only hasn’t been productive but hasn’t been noticeable.
• It has long been suspected that Smith didn’t want to be traded from Vegas, and that he’s never fully embraced the idea of playing in Pittsburgh.
He’s been perfectly professional this season, but the fact that he did no interviews during the summer after the June trade generated the idea that he wasn’t happy about the deal. Those feelings don’t seem to have changed.
• The Penguins are in an unpredictable spot. They could easily make the playoffs. They could also easily nosedive and be in selling position in a month.
Were the latter to take place, Smith would be a logical candidate for the Penguins to deal.”
The Athletic
Three more things to add that Granger also mentioned in his post. These are more so obvious but have to be stated.
A: Who is going on LTIR? Vegas has no cap space. There is no way Smith can return unless someone goes on LTIR to be able to return for the playoffs. As of right now, there is no clear answer.
B: Will the Penguins actually sell? Maybe that depends on how the month of February goes. As things stand right now, the Penguins are 5th in the Metro with 51 points in 46 games. That’s good enough for seven points behind Detroit for a playoff spot. Their plans are to be determined and that includes the fate of Jake Guentzel.
C: Smith is also under contract through this year and next year. That’s while carrying an AAV of $5 million. Maybe you can involve one of those third-party brokers to take his cap hit down until it really jumps up? Yes, you’re going to have to pay extra draft picks to make that happen. Then again, Vegas has an extra third round pick in their pocket from dealing Smith so maybe that offsets it.
Smith, 32, is a perfect fit for the Golden Knights and if there is a chance to bring him back the Kelly McCrimmon-led front office is probably already exploring that possibility. It’s a player Bruce Cassidy can trust as a defensive-minded forward who can kill penalties and chip in more offense than the guys William Karlsson has been skating with this season. Getting that Karlsson line back with Smith may be the key to repeating.
On the season, Smith has 20 points in 40 games. It likely wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg to bring him back. Not the way he’s playing currently.
Subscribe to Vendetta’s Twitch
Check out the Vendetta Shop
Subscribe to Vendetta’s YouTube
Click here for more NHL content
