Kyle Dubas made his first deal as Pittsburgh Penguins general manager when he acquired Stanley Cup champion and former Bruins forward Reilly Smith for a third-round pick in the 2024 NHL Entry Draft.
The 12-year NHL veteran won his first Stanely Cup with the Vegas Golden Knights and was the second player to lift the coveted trophy after captain Mark Stone. Smith was the alternate captain of Vegas since its inaugural season and scored the Cup-clinching goal in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The 32-year-old right wing spent two seasons with the Bruins, racking up 33 goals and 58 assists for 91 points in 163 games before being traded to the Florida Panthers along with Marc Savard’s contract in exchange for Jimmy Hayes.
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Smith was one of the players the Panthers made eligible to Vegas in the 2017 NHL Expansion Draft. With Reilly gone, the Knights enter the upcoming season with just five remaining “misfits” from their first season — Jonathan Marchessault, William Karlsson, Shea Theodore, Brayden McNabb and William Carrier.
The third-round pick originally belonged to Vegas and was sent to Pittsburgh at the trade deadline in exchange for Teddy Blueger.
An hour after confirming the Reilly trade, Vegas announced they reached an agreement with Ivan Barbashev on a five-year, $5 million extension.
Featured image via Lucas Peltier/USA TODAY Sports Images
