Possible Trade Looming? New York Rangers Surprisingly Bench Veteran Forward Amidst Team Struggles
The New York Rangers have been struggling on and off the ice as of late, and now, Reilly Smith has paid the price and will be a healthy scratch as the team look to find a major spark.
Coming into Saturday's games, the New York Rangers have dropped five straight games, and with rumblings that they want to move on from Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba, things are clearly very tense with the team right now.
The idea behind a potential trade of Kreider was to shake things up for the Rangers, and now they've done so with a surprising lineup change, as veteran Reilly Smith has been scratched ahead of a clash with the Montreal Canadiens.
Smith makes way for the return of both Kreider and Filip Chytil, with the team desperately looking for something to spark them, as they have struggled all over the ice since just before the reports emerged, tallying just 10 goals in that five game losing skid.
In 22 games this season, Smith has played his veteran role well, tallying 3 goals and 12 points in that time, but with the team desperately needing offense, he makes way for Kreider and Chytil.
With a 12-9-1 record, there's still plenty of time to turn things around in New York, but at this point, all of the team's top stars simply look uninterested on the ice, so perhaps a shakeup like this could spark something.
Ultimately though, all signs are pointing towards a big time move coming in New York, but for now the team are looking to find a spark from within, and if scratching Smith doesn't do that, there's a good chance that Kreider, Trouba or even one of their other top six veterans could be on the move.
