Friday, March 7, 2025 | 4:04 p.m.
Following last season’s trade deadline, where the Vegas Golden Knights scooped up two of the top players on the market, Tomas Hertl and Noah Hanifin, at the 11th hour, there was an expectation they were going to make some noise once again.
There were murmurings about the Golden Knights trading for Boston Bruins veteran Brad Marchand and dealing multiple other players in order to bring some of the hottest names on the market to Vegas.
That didn’t happen.
Kelly McCrimmon, general manager of the Vegas Golden Knights, attends a news conference to introduce Ryan Craig as the new Henderson Silver Knights head coach at the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson Friday, June 30, 2023.
Photo by
Steve Marcus
Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon said the organization wanted two veteran wingers and got them, leaving nothing on the table.
“We did exactly what we intended to do,” McCrimmon said. “This is what we expected to do, adding two veteran wingers to a good hockey team.”
On Thursday, Vegas made one trade at the deadline, acquiring Rangers forward Reilly Smith for Brendan Brisson and a 2026 third-round draft pick.
Smith fits the role perfectly, having spent six seasons from 2017 to 2023 with the Golden Knights, won a Stanley Cup, and served as an assistant captain.
Brandon Saad, who was picked up off of waivers on Jan. 31, filled the task of the Golden Knights needing another veteran winger at the trade deadline.
Adding more depth on the wing has been a focus for the Golden Knights all season.
Ivan Barbashev and Pavel Dorofeyev were expected to take on more prominent roles this season, and they have.
Keegan Kolesar’s spike in production has been a pleasant surprise, and acquiring Victor Olofsson and Tanner Pearson was a part of the goal of adding depth along the edges.
Adding Smith and Saad into the mix gives Vegas needed depth in experience, not just on its bottom two lines but also in two players who can be used in multiple spots in the lineup.
“We talked about potentially needing a veteran winger at some point during the season,” McCrimmon said. “That’s been a belief or an opinion we’ve held throughout (the season).”
Despite picking up just two players ahead of the trade deadline, Vegas has received many benefits, both financially and on the ice, from having Smith and Saad join the organization.
The Rangers are taking on 37.50% of Smith’s contract, meaning Vegas is paying him just $1.875 million this season.
The Golden Knights have traditionally maxed out the salary cap and even gone over it. Early on, it looked like they won the trade.
“By managing our cap space over the year, we had enough money to do this with the salary retention from New York,” McCrimmon said. “That’s how this one (Smith trade) comes together.”
Saad took a pay cut coming from St. Louis. The Blues put him on waivers due to his lack of production, and the Golden Knights picked him up on a one-year, $1.5 million contract, which is a $3 million decrease from his contract with the Blues.
In nine games, Saad has four points, improving his game from St. Louis and filling out the Golden Knights’ need for depth at wing on a budget.
“He (Saad) looks to be the type of player that we were looking for: a two -time Stanley Cup champion,” McCrimmon said. “He’s got good playoff experience and a good playoff pedigree, and I felt he was an important addition.”
On the ice, Smith’s addition is “seamless.” Having already developed chemistry with the bulk of the team and the Golden Knights already knowing what they’re going to get out of him, that period of fitting into the Golden Knights system is vastly shortened.
“The transition and the fit is completely seamless,” McCrimmon said. “His (Smith’s) teammates are thrilled to see him, and he’s thrilled to be part of our organization again. It was just the ideal fit in terms of what we’re trying to do.”