Reilly Smith Reveals True Intentions Following Vegas Golden Knights' Playoff Exit
Photo credit: WWNY
Vegas Golden Knights forward Reilly Smith discusses his intentions for the future after he and the rest of his teammates were eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
One of the original Misfits of the Vegas Golden Knights returned to Sin City this year, as the New York Rangers traded Reilly Smith back to the franchise he played for from 2017 to 2023.
Smith, who was part of the Golden Knights' inaugural season in 2017-18, won the Stanley Cup in 2023 but was then traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins that summer because of salary cap restraints.
He then briefly played for the Rangers before landing back with Vegas; he helped them get past the Minnesota Wild in the opening round of the playoffs and scored a last-second goal against the Edmonton Oilers to give his club hope before they eventually bowed out in 5 games.
When discussing what his intentions for the future are, Smith said that he does hope to once again re-up with Vegas and said there's something about playing with the club that speeds up his own game.
It may be the structure, it may be the familiarity of the players, but I felt like there's predictability in my game here that helps me play faster. Yeah, I mean I don't have the the exact perfect answer for (why I play better here), I think it's probably a combination of a lot of different things, but I do think it brings a better brand of hockey out of me.
I don't think the last two years have been kind of like 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.
After returning to Vegas, he scored 11 points (3G, 8A) in 21 games. His contract he signed in 2022 with an AAV (average annual value) of $5 million is up on July 1.
| POLL | ||
MAI 19 | 344 ANSWERS Reilly Smith Reveals True Intentions Following Vegas Golden Knights' Playoff Exit Will Reilly Smith re-sign with the Golden Knights? | ||
| Yes | 212 | 61.6 % |
| No | 132 | 38.4 % |
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