Welcome, Reilly Smith. A native of Mimico, Ontario, the 6’1, 185-pound right-winger will spend the last season of his current contract with the Broadway Blueshirts. As a 33-year-old veteran with a resume and a half and still a great player, here are some things the New York Rangers’ roster addition will bring to the table this year.
New York Rangers Roster Addition Gameplay Benefits
Scoring
Firstly, Smith will start right on top. As a right-winger on the top forward line alongside star centreman Mika Zibanejad and left-winger Chris Kreider, Smith will bolster their scoring. In his 2022-23 season with the Vegas Golden Knights, he scored 26 goals and 30 assists in 78 games. This season accumulated in his Stanley Cup championship.
Scoring his fourth goal of the 2023 playoffs, a cup-clincher, he made the score 4-1 for the Knights in Game Five of their Stanley Cup Final series against the Florida Panthers. The Knights would eventually win the game 9-3 – and the cup after the game. He scored the snap shot just 1:45 after Alec Martinez‘ wrister.
Golden Knights score two goals 1:45 apart to blow open Game 5 of Stanley Cup Final (sportsnet.ca)
Smith is a powerful and agile skater with a fast shot. His NHL career-best for points is 60 in just 67 games in 2017-18 with the Knights. That year, he also reached an assist high of 38. Smith peaked for goals more recently with 27 in 71 games (plus 27 apples) in 2019-20 with the same team.
Improving the Power Play
Smith will sit on the Blueshirts‘ second power play unit. He has demonstrated power play strength, scoring six power play goals during his 2022-23 campaign with the Knights. This was tied for second on the team alongside Chandler Stephenson. He and Stephenson were behind only Jonathan Marchessault. The most power play goals Smith scored in a single season was seven with the Knights in 2017-18. Although the Rangers had the third-best power play percentage (26.4) in the league during the 2023-24 season, he will help make it even better.
Mid-Range Accuracy
Also, just before the trade, Reilly Smith had a 13.6 shooting percentage from mid-range during his 2023-24 season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, in the league’s 71st percentile. He scored six goals from that range, in the league’s 78th percentile.
Stanley Cup Champion
Not only is Smith a Lord Stanley champ, he was the first to receive the cup from Knights captain Mark Stone. Smith was also the first player since 2017 to score a cup-clinching goal against his old team. The last was Patric Hornqvist for the Pens against the Nashville Predators in 2017. Smith was a Panther in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons. Smith’s resume as a Cat included scoring 25 goals and 25 assists to help them with their division title.
Other honours of his include being on the NCAA West First All-American Team in 2012 and the CCHA First All-Star Team in 2011 and 2012.
Reilly Smith Trade Off-the-Ice Benefits
Veteran Presence
At age 33, Reilly Smith plus his impressive NHL resume would be a huge motivator and inspiration to the younger players.
He was picked in the third round, 69th overall, in 2009 by the Dallas Stars.
At a young age, he provided a glimpse of the offensive talent we see today. When he was just 16, he scored 80 goals in 70 games for the Toronto Nationals of the Greater Toronto Hockey League. At Miami University, he scored 66 goals and notched 122 points in 121 games.
Finally, Smith signed with NHLs Texas Hockey on March 25, 2012. He scored his first NHL goal against the Vancouver Canucks in Feb. 2013. That summer, he went to the Boston Bruins. In 2013-14, he broke out with 20 goals and 31 assists in 82 games. After another season in Boston, Smith then played for the Panthers, Knights, and had a single-season stint with the Pens in 2023-24. Finally, he is the latest New York Rangers roster addition.
Main Photo: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
