The New York Rangers are holding Reilly Smith out of Sunday’s game against the Nashville Predators for roster management purposes, according to a league source.
Smith is a pending unrestricted free agent who New York will almost certainly move ahead of Friday’s NHL trade deadline. There is not a specific deal in place as of now, per the source, but the Rangers don’t want to risk him getting hurt.
The Rangers acquired Smith over the summer from the Pittsburgh Penguins for a 2025 fifth-round pick and a 2027 second-round pick. The Penguins retained 25 percent of his $5 million cap hit, so he’s on a $3.75 million cap hit with the Rangers. New York could retain 50 percent of that in a deal, which would add to their return.
Smith has 10 goals and 29 points in 58 games this season — a similar production rate to what he was doing last season in Pittsburgh. He has been far from the Rangers’ biggest issue, but he was not the right wing solution the Rangers hoped he’d be on a line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. He’s most recently played on the Rangers’ third line.
The Rangers are four points out of the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference and do not want to hold onto pending UFAs and lose them for nothing. They showed that Saturday by trading Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Lindgren. Smith’s departure could lead to increased playing time for young wings Brennan Othmann and Brett Berard.
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