A day before trade deadline day in the National Hockey League (NHL), the New York Rangers made two deals that have the potential to have a big impact on the rest of their season.
The Rangers traded forward Reilly Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights for a third round pick in the 2025 NHL draft and Brendan Brisson. Then, they made a second deal acquiring defenseman Carson Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks for a third-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft.
Reilly Smith leaves Broadway
Smith did a solid job on Broadway. He scored 10 goals and 19 assists for 29 total points in 58 games. He also scored two shorthanded goals and logged a lot of minutes on the Rangers penalty kill, which ranks fourth in the league.
Smith returns to Vegas where he spent six years from 2017-2023. He scored his career high 60 points with Vegas during the 2017-18 season.
Brisson is a 23-year-old forward who was drafted in the first round, 29th overall by the Golden Knights in the 2020 NHL draft. He stands 6-feet tall and weighs 191 pounds. Last season, Brisson scored 8 points in 15 games in his first season in the NHL. So far this season, Brisson has zero points in nine games.
Smith’s departure leaves a hole in the Rangers lineup, specifically on their third line and first penalty kill unit but head coach Peter Laviolette has already found replacements for Smith. Since Reilly Smith was taken out of the lineup on March 2, Will Cuylle has replaced Smith on the right side of the first penalty kill unit and Jonny Brodzinski has moved into Smith’s right-wing slot on the third line. Brodzinski had 3 points in a 5-2 win over the Islanders on Feb. 25 but since then in four games has not scored a point. The Rangers are 2-0-1 without Smith.
Soucy Says Hello to Broadway
In the second deal that the Rangers made, they acquired Carson Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks. Soucy is a veteran defenseman who has 10 points in 59 games this season. The Alberta-native has spent seven years in the NHL with three teams: the Minnesota Wild, Seattle Kraken and the Vancouver Canucks.
One thing that stands out is his career plus/minus rating, which is a 58. However, Soucy is a -13 this season on a Canucks team that is just behind the Calgary Flames for the last wild card spot in the Western Conference.
Soucy stands 6-feet-5 and weighs 208 pounds, which are almost identical measurements as his new teammate K’Andre Miller. He should be able to bring some of the physicality that the Rangers have been missing on the back end ever since Jacob Trouba was traded to the Anaheim Ducks in December.
