The New York Rangers did not play forward Reilly Smith on Sunday night in a 4-0 win over the Nashville Predators for roster management reasons.
Smith, 33, is a likely candidate to be traded before Friday's NHL deadline. The Rangers do not want to take a chance that he'll sustain an injury ahead of the deadline.
Smith, in his first season with the Rangers, is due to become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. On Saturday, the Rangers traded Jimmy Vesey and Ryan Lindgren, who also will reach UFA status at season's end, to the Colorado Avalanche.
The Rangers sent a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NHL draft and a second-round pick in 2027 to the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 1, 2024, to acquire Smith.
Smith has played for the Dallas Stars (2011-13), Boston Bruins (2013-15), Florida Panthers (2015-17), Vegas Golden Knights (2017-23), Penguins and Rangers. He is in the final season of a three-year, $15 million contract he signed with Vegas in July 2022.
In 898 career games, Smith has 542 points (223 goals, 319 assists), with 29 of them (10 goals, 19 assists) coming with the Rangers.
Through Sunday's action, the Rangers, with 64 points, trail the Detroit Red Wings by two points for the second wild-card berth in the Eastern Conference.
Information from Field Level Media was used in this report.