Reilly Smith left out: New York Rangers are officially sellers

Dose
Crédit:

This week, some teams have jumped ahead of the trade deadline.

Yesterday, there was a big trade between the Florida Panthers and the Chicago Blackhawks. Seth Jones had to pack his bags for the warm sun of Florida.

Ryan Lindgren also had to pack his bags, as he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche, along with Jimmy Vesey, in exchange for Calvin De Haan, Juuso Parssinen, a 2nd-round pick, and a 4th-round pick.

With this trade, the New York Rangers seem to be setting themselves up to be sellers by March 7th.

Now we learn that Reilly Smith will be left out of tonight’s game in anticipation of the trade deadline.

According to Pierre LeBrun, Smith could be traded by Friday.

So that means the Rangers are officially sellers, even though they are only one point behind the Canadiens, and have a game in hand.

This is rather surprising, since the New York team still has a chance to participate in the playoffs, even though the standings are extremely tight in the East.

But it’s just as surprising because the Rangers just acquired J.T. Miller (who has been doing very well since his arrival in the Big Apple).

I’m trying to understand the logic behind all this, but what was the point of acquiring J.T. Miller if the team wants to sell?

I’d love to know what Miller thinks about it, since he waived his full no-movement clause to go to the Rangers.

The fact that the Rangers are deciding to be sellers also plays a big role in the Montreal Canadiens’ chances of making the playoffs.

Peter Laviolette’s team is a divisional rival of the Canadiens, and the race is very tight. If the Rangers “give up” on the playoffs this year, that’s one less team in the running.

I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens in the next five days.

Rapid Fire

– Proof that things can change (very) quickly.

– Interesting.

– He can still come back for the next game, but if he has to miss more games, it would be all the better for Lane Hutson in the Calder Trophy race.

– Incredible.

– That’s a big hit.