Rangers trade veteran back to Vegas where he won Stanley Cup for prospect, 3rd-round pick
The makeover of the New York Rangers continued Thursday, when they traded Reilly Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights for forward Brendan Brisson and a third-round draft pick. The move was made roughly 24 hours before the NHL Trade Deadline arrives Friday at 3 p.m. ET.
It’s the fifth trade made by the Rangers this season, and second straight this week involving a veteran player who’s a pending unrestricted free agent and wasn’t going to be re-signed. Per Vince Mercogliano of Gannett, the Rangers retained 50 percent of Smith’s salary cap hit ($1.875 million).
Smith surely should be happy with the trade. A healthy scratch three straight games for roster management purposes, the 33-year-old forward returns to Vegas, where he helped the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023.
In fact, Smith played six seasons with the Golden Knights, including their inaugural season in 2017-18 when they reached the Stanley Cup Final, ultimately losing to the Washington Capitals in five games.
After one season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Smith was traded to the Rangers this past July 1. In 58 games this season with the Rangers, Smith played up and down the lineup and was one of their top penalty killers. He had 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists), seventh most on the team, and was tied for second with two short-handed goals.
Just five days ago, the Rangers traded two other pending UFAs — defenseman Ryan Lindgren and forward Jimmy Vesey — to the Colorado Avalanche for defenseman Calvin De Haan, center Juuso Parssinen and a second- and fourth-round pick in this year’s draft.
Brisson is an intriguing acquisition from Vegas, where he was a first-round pick (No. 29 overall) in the 2020 NHL Draft. The 23-year-old is in the final year of his entry-level contract and can be a restricted free agent at season’s end. He’s only played 24 NHL games and has eight points (two goals, six assists). In nine games with the Golden Knights this season, Brisson is pointless and averaging just 9:52 TOI.
Though his professional resume is not eye-catching, Brisson is an intriguing prospect. He did score 19 goals in 52 games with Henderson of the American Hockey League last season and 18 in 58 AHL games the season prior.
His amateur career was more impressive. Brisson had 21 goals and 42 points in 38 games with the University of Michigan in 2021-22 and scored two goals in four games for the United States at the 2022 Beijing Olympics. He also helped the U.S. capture the gold medal at the 2021 World Junior Championship, where he was teammates with current Rangers forwards Brett Berard and Arthur Kaliyev.
Related: Rangers trade grades after acquiring Calvin de Haan, Juuso Parssinen from Avalanche
Newest Rangers prospect Brendan Brisson has unique tie to Sidney Crosby
Brisson’s father is NHL super agent Pat Brisson, from the CAA Sports Agency. Among his dad’s clients are Sidney Crosby, Nathan MacKinnon, Elias Pettersson, John Tavares and all three Hughes brothers — Jack, Quinn and Luke.
Brendan Brisson actually has a unique tie with Crosby, thanks to his father’s professional relationship with the future Hall of Famer. Crosby was Brisson’s babysitter for a bit as a youngster himself, when he’d stay with the agent and his family in California.
It’s not clear when or if Brisson will skate against Crosby and the Penguins again since the Rangers concluded their season series against them already. Plus, Brisson likely will be sent to Hartford of the AHL.
His addition does add depth at the center position, a spot that needed better options organizationally. Parssinen was acquired to help beef up the middle as well, and centered the third line the past three games.
As for the third-round pick in this year’s draft, that’s a good get for the Rangers because it’s actually the San Jose Sharks selection, meaning it will be high up in the third round, closer to the second round, considering their place in the overall NHL standings.
The Rangers now have nine picks in the 2025 draft, including two in each of the third, fourth and sixth rounds. They do not have a first-round pick this season, having traded that to the Vancouver Canucks in the J.T. Miller trade on Jan. 31.
Since the start of the season, the Rangers have traded their captain Jacob Trouba, two young forwards once considered cornerstones in Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil and now three veterans they weren’t going to re-sign this offseason in Lindgren, Vesey and Smith.
Still fighting for a playoff spot in the tight Eastern Conference race, the Rangers (31-26-5) could still make a move or two fill holes on defense and in their forward group ahead of the deadline, especially considering how many draft picks they’ve stockpiled. It’s unlikely they’d have interest in a rental, however. A player they like with term on his contract is preferable.
Perhaps more likely is that the Rangers could use their ample cap space to retain salary for other contenders making big moves in order to land more prospects or picks.
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