The Vegas Golden Knights are bringing back an Original Misfit.
The Golden Knights have acquired forward Reilly Smith from the New York Rangers in exchange for former first-round pick Brendan Brisson and a 2025 third-round pick, the club announced Thursday.
The deal, which was first reported by Larry Brooks of the New York Post, comes just over 24 hours before the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline (Friday at noon).
Vegas paid a hefty price, but that’s likely due to the fact that the Rangers retained 50 percent of Smith’s contract, giving him a very manageable $1.875 million cap hit. That leaves Vegas with some cap space to make an additional move if the right fit is available.
In Smith, Vegas is adding a versatile two-way forward with championship pedigree who will fit in seamlessly and can contribute in all areas of the game.
“I think it will be a good addition for us,” Bruce Cassidy said. “He’s a veteran guy, he knows how we play, he knows the room, he knows the expectations. He’s comfortable here in pretty much every aspect.”
Smith scored 124 goals and 286 points in 399 games with the Golden Knights and is second all-time in playoff scoring with 66 points (18-48—66). He recorded four goals and 14 points in 22 postseason games en route to the Golden Knights’ first Stanley Cup championship, including the one that clinched the win in Game 5 against Florida.
Smith was originally traded to Vegas by Florida ahead of the expansion draft in exchange for a 2018 fourth-round pick (No. 123). He was later moved to Pittsburgh as the first cap casualty following Vegas’ Cup run.
Smith played a key two-way role for the Golden Knights in his six seasons with the franchise, and he’ll likely reunite with William Karlsson when he returns from injury. Smith will be a boost on the penalty kill and in the locker room and should add some much-needed secondary scoring.
He is one of four players in franchise history to record 100 goals, along with the other two members of the Misfit Line — Jonathan Marchessault (192) and Karlsson (159) — as well as Mark Stone (105).
Smith, who has been held out of the Rangers lineup in each of the last three games in anticipation of a trade, has 10 goals and 29 points in 58 games this season. He recorded 13 goals and 40 points last year with Pittsburgh.
Brisson was selected 29th overall in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft and finishes his Vegas tenure with two goals and eight points in 24 career games with Vegas. He was held without a point in nine games with Vegas this year and struggled to score with the AHL Henderson Silver Knights, recording five goals and 19 points in 45 games after posting 19 goals and 38 points in 52 games with Henderson last season.
Brisson is the latest example in Vegas’ long-standing trend of trading former first-round selections. He joins six of Vegas’ other seven picks, including Cody Glass, Nick Suzuki, Erik Brannstrom, Peyton Krebs, Zach Dean and David Edstrom. Trevor Connelly (No. 19 overall in 2024) is now the lone exception.
The 2025 third-round pick was originally San Jose’s and was included as part of last year’s Tomas Hertl trade.