Are The Golden Knights Moving on From Reilly Smith?
The Vegas Golden Knights are coming off a pretty tough loss against the Buffalo Sabres. In the Golden Knights 3-1 loss, there were a lot of excuses that seemed to be made from fans all over social media.
First, there are a lot of people who may look back on the game and think that it was a hard fought game that didn’t go the Knights way. Or secondly, because they changed up lines in Reilly Smith’s absence, that they weren’t prepared and therefore, not in the position to play their best hockey.
My response to those different thoughts are: ‘Hard-fought’ doesn’t win you hockey games. More importantly, Reilly Smith’s absence is no excuse. You still have to win hockey games even if he isn’t in the lineup. Furthermore, It may be worth getting use too as well.
Reilly Smith was held out of the Golden Knights lineup yesterday against the Buffalo Sabres for undisclosed reasons. With Pete DeBoer not addressing the situation, it’s raised a lot of speculation.
Now, there is a lot of speculation regarding why Smith was out of the lineup, but the one thing we know for certain is that it wasn’t due to injury. We can also assume because it wasn’t addressed by Pete DeBoer that it wasn’t due to illness either. Which leads us to the third option- trade.
Reilly Smith Trade Possibilities
A couple weeks ago, I had previously written about Reilly Smith having drawn interest from the New York Rangers. And given the recent advancement of things, it appears very likely that Smith could be heading out to New York.
You’re not probably curious as to what I mean by the advancement of things, and well, it’s two-fold.
First, the Golden Knights have been struggling. That much is undeniable. Additionally, they are in a division that is very very tough, and they are on the verge of missing the playoffs after the loss to the Buffalo Sabres. If they continue losing, they could easily miss the playoffs. That brings me to the second point.
Secondly, given the fact that they are losing more games than they are winning, it’s clear that the Knights need Mark Stone. When you have Stone in the lineup, the Golden Knights win. Which, the Golden Knights need more now than ever. Because, we can’t be the only ones nervous about their current situation.
So with that being said, the Knights are more than likely in a position in which they recognize they need to make a move. Trading Reilly Smith gives them the cap space to activate Mark Stone if he is ready. If not, then they can look to hit the trade block and make a move or two to try and give them an extra boost.