New York Islanders' Mathew Barzal, left, skates with the puck as New York Rangers' Reilly Smith, right, pursues during the third period of an NHL preseason hockey game, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024, in New York.
Reilly Smith will play his first game of the 2024-25 season in a familiar building.
Only he'll be doing so for a new employer, with different colors and a No. 91 sweater.
Smith, acquired via trade by the Pittsburgh Penguins two summers ago to add top-six scoring punch, navigated a disappointing debut campaign with the club last year before being traded to the New York Rangers in July for a pair of draft picks.
Wednesday night at PPG Paints Arena, Smith will face his former team as the Rangers visit the Penguins in the season-opener.
"Just trying to turn the page quickly," Smith said Wednesday following New York's morning skate. "It's not the first time I've been traded or playing a former team."
Smith has indeed been around the block in the NHL.
The Rangers are his sixth club and he enters his 13th full season in the league.
Throughout the preseason, Smith skated in a top-six capacity with the Rangers, serving as right wing with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad.
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette hopes Smith, a five-time 20-goal scorer in the NHL, can rediscover some additional offense in a prominent role with New York.
"He's been a real good offensive player, two-way player, he's smart, has been a good fit on that line and we're looking for some chemistry on that line," Laviolette said. "Three good players that can think the game the same way. They've been together since the start of camp; we haven't wavered from that.
"For me, it was a real good pickup to add to a space where I feel like he might really compliment Mika and Chris."
Smith, an original member of the Vegas Golden Knights and Stanley Cup champion with the club in 2023, departed Sin City on a high note, as he managed 26 goals in his final campaign there.
However, by year's end in Pittsburgh, Smith's production halved.
Primarily floating between the Penguins' second and third lines, Smith was unable to sustain a highly productive start to the season, finishing with 13 goals and 27 assists.
Thought of as part of the solution to help the Penguins get back into the playoffs after missing out in 2022-23, Smith fell short of those expectations individually, as did the Penguins on a team level.
To Smith's credit, he was accountable throughout his tenure as a Penguin.
Now the 33-year-old hopes an offseason of hard work will bear fruit with his new team.
"I think everyone in the locker room, myself included, were upset with how last year turned out," he said. "But you have a long offseason to be able to make adjustments and try to be better for it. I know I tried to do that."
Smith, who had worn No. 19 since joining Vegas, arrived in New York with that option unavailable.
Jean Ratelle, who wore it with New York from 1960-76 and is a 1985 inductee into the Hockey Hall of Fame, had his No. 19 sweater retired by the club in 2018.
As puck drop against his former club and Metropolitan Division rival approaches, Smith is ready to get underway.
"It was definitely a long summer but being able to get to New York early, try to get my family and myself settled -- I'm excited for the new program," Smith said. "I think it's really nice for me, and there's a lot of benefits of having that extended summer. Excited for the season to start going."
Note: Former Penguins defenseman Chad Ruhwedel traveled with the Rangers to Pittsburgh but is expected to be a healthy scratch Wednesday night. Ruhwedel, 34, played parts of eight seasons with the Penguins from 2016-24 before being traded to New York last April. In two 2023-24 matchups with the Penguins post-trade to the Rangers, Ruhwedel was a healthy scratch. He has yet to skate against his former team. The Rangers signed him to a one-year deal worth $775,00 annually in July.