New York Rangers Make Surprising Roster Move Against Canadiens

The New York Rangers take on the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday, looking for a spark to get the team going. The Rangers have lost five games in a row and there's been rumblings some major shakeups are coming, however on Saturday, the team decided to make veteran forward Reilly Smith a healthy scratch.

Smith, 33, has just three goals in 22 games this season, however has chipped in with nine assists. He's averaging 15:27 of ice-time per game, including getting time on the Rangers' second power-play unit, and also helps kill penalties.

Smith's gone nine games without a goal and with the Rangers needing a spark, they're looking to mix up their lines and sent a message to their veteran forward.

There's been a ton of speculation about Chris Kreider and Jacob Trouba being the prime trade candidates, however with Smith being a pending UFA, at $3.75 million against the Rangers' cap, he's certainly someone GM Chris Drury could decide to flip, after acquiring Smith in an off-season trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins last summer.

Other Rangers trade candidates include Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil up front. Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman was the first to report Smith would be getting the day off today for New York, and if the Rangers aren't able to get back in the win column and defeat the Canadiens on Saturday, look for a trade of some sort to come from Drury in the very near future.

Warmup for MON/NYR begins shortly

Peter Laviolette said Chytil/Kreider return today. Rumblings Reilly Smith will be a healthy scratch. We will see soon.
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) November 30, 2024

I don’t care that Reilly Smith is being scratched, he hasn’t been great. Good that Berard stays in there

But Zibanejad continues to not be held accountable whatsoever for being one of the worst forwards on the team #NYR
— NYR Louie ™️ (@NYRLouie) November 30, 2024