Golden Knights acquire Cole Smith from Predators for draft pick
The Nashville Predators have sold off another bottom-six forward, as they’ve traded winger Cole Smith to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for defenseman Christoffer Sedoff and a 2028 third-round pick on Tuesday, as first reported by TSN insider Darren Dreger.
🔄 TRADE ALERT 🔄 The Golden Knights have acquired forward Cole Smith from the Nashville Predators in exchange for Christoffer Sedoff and a 2028 third-round pick. More details: vgk.io/6iJ7O #VegasBorn
A trade for Smith was imminent when he left to the locker room after a three-second shift midway through the first period of Tuesday’s 3-2 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, his only shift of the game. While a possible trade was merely speculated, Frank Seravalli reported shortly after that the winger was waiting on a potential trade, with the Tampa Bay Lightning being named as a team inquiring about him.
Smith was ranked in the first tier of Daily Faceoff’s trade board, so it should come as no surprise the Predators were looking to sell him at the deadline. Nashville is looking to get younger during their current organizational transition, so a 30-year-old checking winger who plays in the bottom six didn’t seem like a player the Predators needed to keep around, even if they find themselves in a playoff race. Smith is in the final year of a two-year contract with a $1 million cap hit, so as a pending unrestricted free agent, it was a move which made sense if there were inquiring teams.
In Smith, the Golden Knights get a six-foot-three winger who is quite physical and can provide some energy to a contending team’s bottom six. They also bring in a winger with some defensive responsibility that can play in moderately tough minutes, as his -0.132 5v5 regularized adjusted plus-minus expected goals against per 60 minutes since 2023-24 is tied for 38th in the league.
Smith isn’t quite as known for his offensive game, as he has just six goals and four assists for 10 points in 41 games this season. That said, it is on pace for his second-best offensive output of his career, but not besting his 23-point total from 2023-24.
With the Golden Knights at the 50-contract limit, one had to go the other way for them to acquire Smith, so Sedoff was the player included in the trade. He was an undrafted signing out of the WHL in 2023, and has spent the beginning of his professional career in the AHL with the Henderson Silver Knights. He has four assists in 38 AHL games this season, and is in the final year of his AHL contract.
The pick being traded to Nashville is Vegas’ own third-rounder. Nashville now owns Vegas’ 2027 and 2028 picks, acquiring the former pick as part of the Nicolas Hague trade.
The trade comes just a few hours after the Predators also dealt Michael McCarron to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for a 2028 second-round pick.