Veteran forward Reilly Smith feels right at home by rejoining Golden Knights
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Reilly Smith is certainly happy he never sold his home in Las Vegas.
He’s even more ecstatic knowing the renters moved out just a few weeks ago.
Smith, who was traded back to Vegas by the New York Rangers on Thursday in exchange for Brendan Brisson and a third-round draft pick in 2025, said he felt right at home when taking the ice with the Golden Knights on Friday.
An original “Golden Misfit" of the inaugural team that made its league debut in 2017, Smith was welcomed by fans attending the team's morning skate — eight hours before he suited up against the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team Vegas traded him to less than a month after he helped the Golden Knights win the Stanley Cup in 2023.
“When you get traded, there’s always so much new change, not just the stuff on the ice, but everything around it,” the 33-year-old Smith said. “So to be able to come back here and have so much familiarity, it definitely feels like coming home a little bit.
“And having so many guys still here from when I was here a couple years ago is really nice.”
Vegas general manager Kelly McCrimmon said he had ongoing conversations with Rangers president and GM Chris Drury “for a period of time” while evaluating forwards that were available to the Knights.
He said Smith was the player he wanted all along.
“That’s why we moved on it,” McCrimmon said. “Yesterday just felt like it was the time to do it. We had had talks all week and decided that Reilly was our guy.
“I was really excited to bring Reilly back. I opened the call by saying, ‘I’m more excited about this call than I was the last time I called ya.’ ... (He) was a complete pro throughout, and that speaks to who he is, the character he has.”
Smith, meanwhile, said he was caught off guard when he first received a text from his agent and joked that he needed to do some investigating to make sure he “wasn’t getting punked.”
“I didn’t want to start sending out a bunch of texts and phone calls and then have everything come back on me,” Smith said with a chuckle.
Once confirmed, Smith said he shared a text with his former linemate and fellow charter member of the first Knights team, William Karlsson, along with several others who were part of the 2023 championship squad.
“I tried to play cool for a little bit and let the dust settle,” Smith said. “But really excited to be back in this group, obviously friends for life here, and it seemed like everyone was pretty excited as I was able to talk to them.”
Smith, who had 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists) in 58 games with the Rangers, is third in franchise history in career goals (124) and fifth in assists (162).
A fan favorite during his time in Vegas, the veteran forward received a raucous ovation Friday night, when he was announced in the starting lineup alongside first-line forwards Jack Eichel and captain Mark Stone, just as big - if not bigger - as the one he received when he returned with Pittsburgh and was welcomed with a tribute video on Jan. 20, 2024.
Smith became the fifth skater in team history to play 400 games for Vegas. It also marked the 899th game of his career.
“It’s a little bit overwhelming," Smith said of his emotions inside T-Mobile Arena. "Coming back the first time, I was pretty shocked of the ovation I got, yet I wasn’t even playing (that night). Just very grateful for my time that I was able to spend here. To be able to come back here, it’s very special.
“The fan base here has been so special to myself and my family. They’ve welcomed us here when we were here eight years ago and made it a home for us. And it just seems like this town was filled with great people.”
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