Reilly Smith will reach his 1,000th game in the NHL. With little thanks to the New York Rangers, which was a tiny blip on a golden resume. According to reports, the Golden Knight felt much better after being traded by GM Chris Drury.![Reilly Smith]()
Reilly Smith was sent back to where he won his first and only Stanley Cup in 2023. Where he was a fit in the team culture, as part of the dwindling squad of misfits that had been part of the team since the expansion draft.
Smith had been on a journey back to the Golden Knights after being traded by the team to the Pittsburgh Penguins and then the New York Rangers.
«I don't think the last two years have been kind of the trajectory I wanted my game to go, but coming back here I felt like I was able to get my footing pretty quickly and feel good about my game again,» Smith said at break-up day
Smith's comments rang true, as his production declined in both Pittsburgh scoring 40 points (13 goals, 27 assists) in 2023-2024. While they failed to make the playoffs, and he was also a part of the Rangers team which fractured this season.
Smith would be featured in the top-six, with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, until he wasn't. He scored 29 points total and would be shipped "home" to the team of misfits, the Golden Knights.
A place he never wanted to leave.
«It was a lot of fun, coming back here and playing on a team that had a lot of purpose, a lot of familiar faces, a structure that probably brings the best game out of me. It made for a fun few months,» Smith explained. «A great experience for me.»
Smith loves Vegas and it shows that he's a fit in the culture and the locker room.
«The first game I came back I felt like there was a light switch that kind of turned back on. It may be the structure, the familiarity with the players, there's a predictability in my game here that helps me play faster.
He'd score 11 points in 21 games with the Golden Knights in a 3rd-line role on Bruce Cassidy's team.
Smith would contribute three goals during the Golden Knights' playoff run, and score a game-winning goal against the Oilers in Game 3 with .4 seconds left.
He will be a UFA at the end of the season, but hopes to remain with the team that put him in the spotlight and a team he's been to the Stanley Cup finals with twice.
Could the feeling be mutual? Regardless, how he talks about the Knights in contrast to the Rangers gives us an insight into the locker room here in New York.
