New York Rangers Scratch Stanley Cup Champion for Trade Related Purposes

After reports suggested that Chris Drury, general manager of the New York Rangers, made a mistake by trading one of his young stars earlier this season, he made a big decision to trade Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey to the Colorado Avalanche yesterday.

Trading away Adam Fox's partner is another risky bet, but Drury's plan appears clear: he won't hesitate to move on from pending free agents.

Today, he made another move suggesting that this is the road he'll take: he decided to healthy scratch another pending UFA, Reilly Smith.

Per Pierre LeBrun:

Smith, 33, was acquired by the Rangers last summer from the Pittsburgh Penguins for two draft picks.

This season, he has scored 29 points, including 10 goals, in 58 games. He has been providing great service to the Rangers on the penalty kill unit but has been struggling offensively.

He notably won the Stanley Cup in 2023 with the Vegas Golden Knights.

It's unclear if the Rangers will still try to make a push for the playoffs at this point in the season. They are still in the race, only four points away from the Eastern Conference's second wild-card spot.

Even though they acquired J.T. Miller from the Vancouver Canucks a month ago, they truly seem to have changed their plan. Let's not forget that Adam Fox and Chris Kreider, two of their best leaders, are currently on injured reserve.

Could this indicate that goaltender Jonathan Quick will be the next one to go?

With less than a week before the deadline, fans and analysts are eager to see what will happen in New York.

Meanwhile, the Rangers are preparing to face the Predators tonight and have called up Brett Berard from the Hartford Wolf Pack to replace Smith.