The Golden Knights are moving on without Reilly Smith.
Danny Webster of the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported on July 2, 2026, that Smith will not be back in Vegas next season, even on a veteran minimum deal. Webster said the same is true for Brandon Saad and Ben Hutton, with all three set to hit the free agent market.
Smith’s exit lands especially hard because Vegas had hoped for one more run with the player fans still know as an Original Misfit. He put up 16 goals and 10 assists last season, but that wasn’t enough to secure another contract.
His situation also carried a little extra weight because of how he got back to the Golden Knights in the first place. Vegas had traded Smith to the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2023 after he had been on a three-year deal carrying a $5 million AAV. Later, the Golden Knights brought him back in a trade with the New York Rangers that sent Brendan Brisson to New York, then signed Smith to a one-year, $2 million contract for the 2025-26 season.
This time, though, it looks like the reunion is over.
Smith’s return meant more than just another roster move. He was deeply tied to the Vegas community and helped create Battle 4 Vegas, the annual charity event featuring the Golden Knights and the Las Vegas Raiders. The event became a familiar part of the local sports scene, with Smith at the center of it.
For Golden Knights fans, the goodbye carries a personal sting. Smith was there in the inaugural season and again during the 2023 Stanley Cup run, and his impact went beyond the box score.
In Other News...
Golden Knights Just Took Another Big Pietrangelo Step
Alex Pietrangelos name remains part of the Golden Knights books, but the practical reality around the veteran defenseman has not changed. Vegas has placed him on long-term injured reserve for the 2026-27 season, a move that comes after he was briefly back on the active roster list on July 1, and it underscores how far the team has already moved toward life without him. Pietrangelos run in the NHL effectively ended after the 2024-25 season, closing a 17-season career that included two Stanley Cup championships and a long stretch as one of the leagues most reliable blueliners.
For Vegas, the roster note also carries cap implications as the club works through the final year of Pietrangelos seven-year, $61.6 million contract signed in 2020. The LTIR move gives the Golden Knights just under $1 million in cap space, but the bigger significance is the organizational one: one of the defining players from the franchises championship core is now being handled strictly as a non-playing piece, even if he remains around the team in other ways. [Read more 🡒]
Golden Knights Just Took A Firm Stand On Their Biggest Concern
The Golden Knights spent the offseason making a clear change in net by moving Akira Schmid out and narrowing their focus to the tandem they want to ride going forward. General manager Kelly McCrimmon has made it plain the team views Adin Hill and Carter as the backbone of the position, with the organization sticking to its belief that Hill can steady himself after a rough year.
For Vegas, the broader message matters as much as the personnel move. Goaltending has been the obvious area to watch, and McCrimmons stance suggests the club is not looking for another shake-up there anytime soon, even with Hill carrying a no-trade list and a contract that makes any potential maneuver more complicated than most. [Read more 🡒]