LAS VEGAS — There was naturally a lot of nostalgia when Riley Smith played at T-Mobile Arena for the first time since winning his first Stanley Cup with the Golden Knights two seasons ago.
But looking back on his six years in Las Vegas, the 33-year-old forward has more than a championship ring in mind. Expansion draft day trade from the Panthers. The feeling in the Golden Knights locker room at the start. He and his teammates continued their journey to become the first team to deliver Lord Stanley to the Strip in Sin City.
“I thought my career was over,” Smith told the Post of his first thoughts coming to Las Vegas after the Rangers' morning skate on Saturday. “At the time it didn't seem like a good opportunity. It almost looked like I was going to be relegated. The result was anything but that. It couldn't have been better for my career, my family and everything else. Me. I'm so grateful to this organization here. It really changed my hockey career and life.
“I was lucky in some ways to be a part of that expansion draft, but the best part was that a lot of people who were kicked off their teams and thrown out came together and we were all evenly matched. I think coming into the season in that state, I just wanted to enjoy it and make the most of the opportunity.”
Smith said he was nervous to begin his NHL career in Las Vegas, but the players in attendance had a lot in common with how he felt about leaving his former team.
Smith pointed out that the players felt abandoned, wanted to improve, and used that as fuel, which made them a very close-knit group.
Driven by players who felt they had something to prove, the Golden Knights ultimately reached the Cup Finals in their first year in 2017-18, losing to the Capitals in five games. Ta.
Smith was certainly one of them. You can hear it in his voice when he talks about it.
“I remember winning the first game and I was so excited that we didn’t lose 82-0,” he said with a laugh. “I mean, that's how the team energy built throughout the year. We didn't expect much, but every day we grew and grew and grew and were always more than that. I think that's what made that team so successful in its first year.”
He said he'll never forget putting his daughter Isla, who was 8 months old at the time and is now 2 1/2 years old, into the cup.
But it's also hard to forget what his time in Las Vegas did to his hockey career.
After being traded to Pittsburgh ahead of the 2023-24 season, Smith committed to New York on July 1st and has appeared in 40 of 41 games since Saturday night, with the remaining games coming on November 30th when he is healthy. It was designated as a scratch.
Smith's game fit perfectly into the Rangers' underperforming batting lineup until he was a healthy scratch through the first few months of the season.
In 18 games since then, Smith had five goals and three assists and earned a plus-2 rating before Saturday's matchup with the Golden Knights.
He played with purpose and speed and displayed an impressive way of thinking throughout the game, which is one of his greatest assets.
Although his game feels like it has stepped up, Smith doesn't think he's gotten better because of being on the bench.
“Honestly, I don't believe anything positive came out of this game,” Smith said. “I know my game, I know when I'm going well and I know when I'm not going well. When things like that happen, it's tough for me personally. 'Oh, there was that, and now. So I'm a better player for it.'' There's nothing to say about that. I don't believe it. But I think I've been playing better since the Christmas break. I think our team is playing better. I just want to continue that trend.
“I'm my biggest critic. Like I said, I know when I'm playing well and when I'm not playing well. I'm holding onto the stick too much. You can tell when things are going really smoothly and you don't know how anyone will interpret it or want to interpret it.
“I know the reality, so that's how I approach every part of my game. If something doesn't work, I'm the one making the change, no one else is going to make it.” .”
