NEW YORK — Brett Howden was beaming with joy as he walked through the hallways of Madison Square Garden following Friday night’s game against his former teammates.
An infectious smile stretched across his face as he joked and laughed with Rangers forwards Mika Zibanejad and Ryan Strome just outside the Golden Knights dressing room. Howden played with both of them for three seasons in New York, and Friday’s game was his first return to the city since he was traded to Vegas in the offseason.
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Howden had plenty to smile about on this night. He scored the game’s opening goal on a hard-working play in front of the Rangers’ net, jamming home his own rebound to put Vegas ahead early. After Vegas fell behind, Howden added an assist on the game-tying goal late in the third period, marking his first multi-point game with the Golden Knights in the 3-2 shootout win over his former team.
“It was a pretty fun night,” Howden said, still smiling from ear to ear. “Obviously, I had a lot of excitement coming back here, but I’m just really happy we got the win. It’s a big win for us.”
It’s easy to be in a good mood after a performance like that, but Howden’s cheerfulness on Friday night was nothing new. That’s just who he is.
“He’s one of my best buddies on the team,” defenseman Dylan Coghlan said. “For the short amount of time he’s been here, he’s been great. He’s always got a positive attitude, (through) ups and downs, he’s always got a smile on his face, so it’s great to see.”
The start to Howden’s NHL career has been anything but easy. He was drafted by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round of the 2016 draft and was traded to the Rangers shortly after in exchange for Ryan McDonagh and J. T. Miller. As a high draft pick serving as the return for two impact NHL players, the expectations for him in New York were very high.
After only 49 points in 178 games with the Rangers, the organization decided to move on from him this summer, dealing him to the Golden Knights for only AHL defenseman Nick DeSimone and a fourth-round pick.
Serving as the place for Howden’s rocky professional start, it could easily be a house of horrors for the 23-year-old, but that’s not how he views it. That’s not in his nature. Howden loves New York City and his former Rangers teammates.
“This city is unique so it’s pretty fun to be back here, see a few of my buddies and play here again,” he said. “Obviously, it’s an iconic building, so it was just a really fun night.”
Howden’s optimism has served him well in hockey. Even his start with the Golden Knights has been far from smooth. He’s suffered several injuries and has yet to establish himself as an every-night player on an incredibly deep team.
He capped off his return to Madison Square Garden with a win in what turned out to be the most crucial faceoff of the game. He lined up against his old pal Zibanejad in the Rangers’ zone, trailing by a goal with just over five minutes to play, and calmly won the puck back to the point.
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Nic Hague chipped it across the point to Howden’s new pal, Coghlan, who fired the shot through traffic to tie the score 2-2. Vegas went on to win in a shootout thanks to Jonathan Marchessault’s game-winning goal and a heroic effort in net by Laurent Brossoit.
In a game that featured several high-profile revenge angles (Gerard Gallant was coaching against the Golden Knights for the first time ever, and Ryan Reaves faced his former Vegas teammates for the first time since he was traded), Howden stole the show. It served as a boost in confidence for Howden and Coghlan.
“It’s awesome. He’s a great guy,” Coghlan said. “It’s good for him to beat his old team, and we’re happy to have him.”
Both 23 years old, and bouncing in-and-out of the Golden Knights lineup, Coghlan and Howden have grown close.
“Obviously, (Vegas is) an older team, coming from New York where we had a really young team,” Howden said. “So to have a few guys around my age really helped a lot, actually. It just helped me adjust a lot easier, and I’ve started to become a lot closer with everybody just as the months have gone on here.”
“We have a real good group of young kids there, and they all kind of take care of each other and all support each other,” coach Pete DeBoer said. “When you have depth like this, those guys have a tough job. They’re in and out of the lineup, or they’re playing in the depth of the lineup, not getting as many minutes as maybe they’re used to. It’s a good group. They support each other in that way really well.”
Where does Howden’s unrelenting cheerfulness come from?
“I get that from my parents and my family,” he said. “That’s just who I try to be. My dad, my mom and everybody in my family. I’m the youngest in my family. I have three other siblings, so growing up, (my parents) always took care of me and my siblings, and I think that’s where I get it from.”
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Howden’s two-point night was his first with the Golden Knights. He has three goals and five assists this season, putting him on pace to finish with 22 points — one off his career high. But Howden’s game has been trending upward lately after he dealt with several minor injuries in the first 30 games.
“I feel like I’ve gotten a lot more comfortable as the season has gone along,” he said. “I’ve been adjusting a lot better. I think I’m playing probably some of my better hockey right now. I just feel like I have a bit more confidence, so I just want to keep building on that and just keep trying to do the right things.”
If Howden can continue trending in this direction, he’ll be an important part of what the Golden Knights hope to accomplish. General manager Kelly McCrimmon’s main focus during the offseason was retooling the bottom-six forwards to add more scoring threat, and Howden was part of that plan. What does the best version of Howden’s game look like for DeBoer?
“I think it looks like what he did tonight,” he replied. “He was above 50 percent on faceoffs, he was using his speed, he was getting inside. The goal is simply stopping at the net and banging away. He has that workmanlike attitude, but he’s got some skill and speed with it when he’s playing his best.”
Howden still has more to bring, and he knows he has to keep improving to keep his spot in the lineup, especially with another center entering the fold in the coming months (Vegas still has Jack Eichel, in case you haven’t heard).
Perhaps putting together his best performance yet, against his former team, could be a launching point for the next chapter of Howden’s professional career in Vegas.
“I’m real happy for him,” DeBoer said. “He works hard. Any time you’re playing against your old team, there’s always extra motivation. But that (type of performance) doesn’t happen by accident. I think he’s worked to have the success he’s having. It hasn’t been easy, and it hasn’t been given to him. He’s earning the shifts and the opportunities that he’s getting.”
(Top photo: Jared Silber / NHLI via Getty Images)
