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Craig Smith

Dallas Stars To Sign Craig Smith

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The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta reports the Dallas Stars are signing right wing Craig Smith to a one-year, $1MM deal.

This past season, Smith showed some significant decline whilst playing for the red-hot Boston Bruins. Much of that had to do with the over three-minute decline he saw in his ice time, and the general nature of Father Time. Before being traded to the Washington Capitals at the trade deadline, Smith played 42 games for Boston, scoring four goals and six assists.

Those offensive numbers are extremely tepid, but the defensive talent to his game did shore up some of his offensive inadequacies. At the beginning of last season, Smith was right on the heels of scoring 16 goals and 20 assists for Boston, as well as being one of the more hard-working players on the roster. After the trade, his time in Washington went about the same, scoring five goals and one assists in the last 22 games of the regular season.

In Dallas, with already a stacked forward core heading into next season, Smith could find himself regularly playing on the team’s bottom line, or also find himself a regular healthy scratch as one of the team’s extra forwards. Aside from that, with already so many talented wingers on the roster, Smith will have to improve his game quite considerably to find more playing time.

Capitals Notes: Laviolette, Oshie, Sheary, Smith

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Tarik El-Bashir of The Athletic is reporting that the Washington Capitals are preparing for a potentially big offseason in which a lot of personnel decisions will need to be made. The Capitals missed the playoffs for the first time since the 2013-14 season and while much of their 2018 Stanley Cup championship roster has moved on, some very important pieces remain.

El-Bashir reports that there is no update on the status of head coach Peter Laviolette. The veteran coach is a free agent at the end of this season and would still be in demand should he or the Capitals elect to part ways and start fresh next season. It is believed that Laviolette still has the support of many of the veterans in the Washington dressing room, but the recent stretch of games would give anyone pause as the Capitals have seemed indifferent at times. Laviolette is in his third season as the Capitals head coach and is the eighth winningest coach in NHL history. The 58-year-old has led three different organizations to the Stanley Cup final in his career, including a Stanley Cup victory in 2005-06 with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, in Washington he hasn’t been able to get the Capitals back over the hump and out of the first round.

In other Washington notes:

  • T.J. Oshie was shut down earlier this week with the same back injury that has caused him problems all season. Oshie missed a total of 22 games this year after dressing in just 44 games last season. El-Bashir writes in The Athletic that he is being told that Oshie shouldn’t require surgery on his ailing back and that he should be able to recover with rest and rehab. For his part the 36-year-old Oshie has seen his offensive production slide the last two seasons. He’s failed to reach 40 points two years in a row now after missing that number just once in the previous 12 seasons. Oshie can still score, evidenced by his 19 goals this season in 58 games, but Washington will be counting on him to stay healthy going forward, especially with two years left on his contract.
  • El-Bashir also writes in The Athletic that he expects the Capitals to move on from Conor Sheary and Craig Smith. Sheary is in his third season with Washington and has been a good depth scoring option with 37 points in 80 games. His scoring is down from last year, but the 30-year-old two-time cup winner should find an NHL job for next season as a depth forward with speed who can chip in on offence.
  • Craig Smith will also be looking for a new job this summer. The former Nashville Predator has seen his numbers fall off a cliff this season as he bounced between the Boston Bruins and Washington. The 2009 fourth round pick had topped 30 points in five straight seasons as a dependable third liner but hasn’t been able to duplicate that success this season. He is in the final year of a three-year contract he originally signed with Boston and will likely be forced to take a one-year deal around league minimum to secure an NHL job in 2023-24.

Boston Bruins Acquire Garnet Hathaway, Dmitry Orlov

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A few moments after announcing that Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway would be held out of the lineup for tonight’s game for trade protection purposes, the Washington Capitals have sent both players to the league-leading Boston Bruins.

Heading back to the Capitals is forward Craig Smith, Boston’s first-round pick in 2023, Boston’s third-round pick in 2024, and Boston’s second-round pick in 2025. Washington will retain 50% of Orlov’s remaining salary, while the Minnesota Wild will retain 25% of Orlov’s contract, sending the rights to Andrei Svetlakov to Washington (who actually flipped those rights to Boston in the other part of the deal), and acquiring Boston’s fifth-round pick in 2023.

The NHL’s best team just became much better. With the acquisition of Orlov and Hathaway, the Bruins have cemented themselves as a top Stanley Cup contender and an odds-on-favorite for Lord Stanley. In his 11 seasons in Washington, Orlov became one of the more underappreciated defensemen in the league. Being able to do a little bit of everything, averaging over 100 shots, 100 hits, and over 20 minutes a game, Orlov is a complete player that Boston will now be able to supplant into their already talented defensive core.

Joining him on the New England juggernaut is Hathaway, who is a near-perfect example of what Bruins fans have come to love from their players over the years. A hard-nosed forward, Hathaway can provide depth goal scoring, sufficient work on the penalty kill, and amassing almost 200+ hits every year of his career. If they weren’t already hard enough to play against, Orlov and Hathaway turn Bruins into an even more frustrating opponent for the rest of the league.

Although they only find themselves two points out of a playoff spot, the Capitals’ recent stretch of play has sent them into a bit of a spiral. Losing their last five games in a row, the Capitals seemed to have made a pivot toward selling during this deadline. Still carrying the likes of Alex Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom, and John Carlson, it is not likely that this will lead to a full-tear down in D.C. However, with so many players headed for unrestricted free agency after this season, and falling further out of the playoff picture, it is only natural that the Capitals recoup some assets from this group.

Having already traded away this year’s third-round selection and next year’s second-round selection in separate trades, the Capitals looked to restock their draft capital in this deal with Boston. After falling out of favor in Boston and clearing waivers earlier this season, Smith can slot into the Capitals’ bottom six for the remainder of the season.

Much like the trade sending Ryan O’Reilly to the Maple Leafs, the Wild were able to involve themselves in this trade as well. With ample deadline cap space, the Wild have now used 2/3 of their retention slots in the last six days to help facilitate deals around the league.

Boston will also receive the rights to Svetlakov, though his inclusion will be overshadowed by the two NHLers. Drafted in the sixth round of the 2017 NHL Draft, Svetlakov has spent the last several seasons playing for CSKA Moscow of the KHL.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet was the first to report that Hathaway and Orlov were headed to Boston, while Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic first reported Smith and picks would be the return to Washington.

Trade Rumors: Boeser, McCabe, Smith

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Few fits between player and team in the NHL are more evident than Brock Boeser and the Minnesota Wild. As the Vancouver Canucks still look to remain active on the trade market and the Wild debate whether or not to make a deadline-day splash, the door to a union between Boeser and his home team remains open.

Boeser’s agent, Ben Hankinson, threw fuel on the rumor fire on a Wednesday edition of The Athletic Hockey Show. Hankinson said Vancouver had permitted him to contact Wild general manager Bill Guerin directly about making a trade work, and “they’re trying to move some things around, potentially,” to make the acquisition happen. The Wild are certainly a fringe playoff team, battling it out with teams like the Calgary Flames for wild card positions in the West, but there’s an obvious Kevin Fiala-sized hole in the team’s top six that Boeser could help fill. Salary considerations remain a concern, though, as Hankinson notes. Boeser’s $6.65MM cap hit through 2025 could be tough to swallow as the full effects of the Ryan Suter and Zach Parise buyouts kick in over the coming seasons.

  • Sportsnet senior columnist Mark Spector reports that Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Jake McCabe has listed the Edmonton Oilers on the latest no-trade list he’s submitted. McCabe is one of the top defense targets available at the deadline, save for Jakob Chychrun and Vladislav Gavrikov, and he has a seven-team no-trade list as part of his four-year, $16MM contract with Chicago. One of the better defensive blueliners in the league, McCabe’s value is increased by his cost certainty — he’s only in year two of his contract, meaning he’s set at a $4MM cap hit through 2025. The 29-year-old veteran of nearly 500 NHL games has two goals and 17 assists in 53 games with Chicago this year.
  • While the Carolina Hurricanes have been very publically linked to San Jose Sharks forward Timo Meier, that may not be the only move they make before the March 3 deadline. With more cap space available than a standard contender, Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman believes they’ve spoken to the Boston Bruins about winger Craig Smith. Smith’s offensive numbers have taken a nosedive this season, recording just 10 points in 42 games in the final year of a contract carrying a $3.1MM cap hit. With Boston looking to offload salary to make other deadline moves, Smith could provide an added veteran presence in a Carolina bottom-six. Boston would likely compensate them for taking the contract off their hands. Carolina is a rare contender with a favorable salary cap situation, as they still have over $10MM in potential deadline cap space.

Atlantic Notes: Vrana, Fabbri, Hollowell, Smith

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Red Wings winger Jakub Vrana will report to AHL Grand Rapids for a three-game conditioning stint, reports Max Bultman of The Athletic (Twitter link).  Vrana was recently reinstated by the NHL/NHLPA Player Assistance Program and after skating with Detroit for a week, it appears as if he’s ready to get some game action in.  Until he’s ready to return to the NHL lineup, Vrana won’t be part of Detroit’s active roster.

Meanwhile, there could be more help on the horizon for the Red Wings as Ted Kulfan of The Detroit News reports (Twitter link) that winger Robby Fabbri could be ready to return to the lineup on January 4th.  The veteran has missed the entire season so far after undergoing knee surgery back in March.  Fabbri had 17 goals in 56 games in 2021-22 and his possible return coupled with Vrana’s could give Detroit two-thirds of a strong secondary scoring trio as they look to hang around the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • The Maple Leafs announced (Twitter link) that they’ve recalled defenseman Mac Hollowell from AHL Toronto on an emergency basis. It’s the fourth emergency recall for the 24-year-old in less than two weeks as the team hedges their bets with some of their injured blueliners.  Toronto had an open roster spot so no other move needed to be made to bring up Hollowell, who has two assists in six NHL games so far this season.
  • As expected, the Bruins have recalled winger Craig Smith from AHL Providence, per the AHL’s transactions log. The 33-year-old cleared waivers earlier this month and the team will likely paper him down to the minors on off days to bank a bit of cap space.  They did so over the weekend, saving a little more than $18K by doing so.  Smith has four points in 19 games for Boston so far this season.

Boston Bruins Recall Craig Smith

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Dec 21: Smith is back with the big club, though he never really left. Recalled from the minor leagues, he will be available for tomorrow’s game (as long as they don’t send him down again).

Dec 20: The Boston Bruins will try and save a little cap space over the holiday break, assigning Craig Smith to the AHL after the veteran forward cleared waivers yesterday. Joe Haggerty of Boston Hockey Now reports that Smith remains with Boston for the time being, even though his contract has officially been loaned to the Providence Bruins.

Since the Bruins are no longer using any long-term injured reserve relief, they can accrue cap space every day they spend under the ceiling. By sending Smith’s contract down, $1.125MM of the $3.1MM cap hit will come off the books.

The 33-year-old will still be able to collect his full $4.3MM salary, but it certainly would be something to see him suit up for Providence. It’s been a decade since Smith played in the minor leagues, and even then he only spent four games in the AHL with the Milwaukee Admirals.

Selected in the fourth round of the 2009 draft, he became a star at the University of Wisconsin and stepped directly into the NHL after signing with the Nashville Predators, scoring 14 goals and 36 points as a rookie in 2011-12. The only reason he was even in the minor leagues the following season was because of the lockout-shortened season, and ever since he has been one of the most reliable middle-six forwards in the league.

After recording double-digit goals and at least 29 points in each of the last nine seasons, Smith had just four points in 18 games this year. Over an 807-game career, he has scored 192 goals and 402 points. At the end of the season, Smith’s three-year, $9.3MM deal will come to an end, leaving him an unrestricted free agent.

Five Players Clear Waivers

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Dec 19: All five players have cleared waivers. Soshnikov and Zhuravlyov will have their contracts terminated.

Dec 18: Considering the amount of roster moves taking place today in advance of tomorrow’s roster freeze, it’s no surprise to see a crowded waiver wire this afternoon. As Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman writes, Craig Smith (BOS), Austin Czarnik (DET), Jason Demers (EDM), Nikita Soshnikov (NYI), and Danil Zhuravlyov (COL) have all been placed on waivers.

Soshnikov and Zhuravlyov have both been placed on waivers for the purposes of contract termination, meaning that if they clear, they will be released by their organizations. As reported earlier, Demers is on waivers after signing an NHL contract with the Edmonton Oilers today, though little will change if he’s not claimed as he’s been playing with their AHL affiliate, the Bakersfield Condors, this season. Lukas Sedlak, who was placed on unconditional waivers yesterday, has cleared.

Zhuravlyov, 22, was a fifth-round pick of the Colorado Avalanche back in 2018 but only came to North America this year, joining the Colorado Eagles. In that time, the defenseman has played in 14 games and while it hasn’t exactly been a resounding success, recording just an assist in that time, it was far from a poor performance for the developing blueliner. It’s unclear what the next step would be should he clear, but perhaps an opportunity closer to home could be available. Zhuravlyov spent the previous three seasons with AK Bars in the KHL.

Soshnikov, who had just returned to North America after a three year stint in the KHL, had made the New York Islanders roster out of training camp, however he had seen rather limited playing time before being placed on waivers and sent down in mid-November, getting into just three games on the Island. Like Sedlak and Zhuravlyov, perhaps an opportunity closer to home is on the table for Soshnikov, though nothing’s confirmed for the latter two.

Czarnik is no stranger to the waiver wire himself, claimed twice last season, once by the Seattle Kraken from the Islanders, then again by the Islanders from the Kraken. The forward signed with the Detroit Red Wings this season, placed on waivers just prior to the start of the regular season, and now finds himself on the wire for the fourth time in roughly 10 months. Known as a solid depth option wherever he goes, the 30-year-old Czarnik has three points in 11 NHL games this season to go with an impressive 14 points in 12 games with the Grand Rapids Griffins, Detroit’s AHL affiliate.

Perhaps the most intriguing name on this list is Smith. A veteran of 12 NHL seasons, the forward is in the final year of a three-year, $3.1MM AAV contract he signed with the Boston Bruins prior to the 2020-21 season. The 33-year-old has struggled to start this season with just four points in 17 games, playing just 9:51 per night, far less than his career 14:44 average. By placing him on waivers, it’s likely the Bruins, who are operating right along the edge of the salary cap ceiling will be hoping Smith is claimed, relieving them from his cap hit.

Given the Bruins impeccable start to this season and the possibility of their competitive window closing shortly, considering Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci’s age and David Pastrnak’s uncertain contract status, one would think the team will be looking to make a splash at or before the trade deadline. Having Smith claimed isn’t the be-all-end-all of making a big acquisition, but would get the ball rolling in Boston, or at the very least, allow them to hand off his cap hit without having to give up an asset to do so.

Injury Notes: Teravainen, Bruins, Lindgren

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Carolina Hurricanes forward Teuvo Teravainen is getting closer to returning, according to NHL.com’s Kurt Dusterburg. Teravainen practiced with the team today and could return during the team’s upcoming six-game road trip.

Teravainen has yet to score this season, but he’s been limited to just 14 games with an upper-body injury. The Hurricanes haven’t been great without him, though, and they’ve won just one game out of their past six. They’re hoping Teravainen’s return can jumpstart the depth scoring that’s been a significant issue in 2022-23. Dusterburg also noted that goalie Frederik Andersen, who is on injured reserve and has missed the past ten games, will not travel.

  • Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery says goalie Linus Ullmark is healthy enough for backup duty tomorrow night against the Tampa Bay Lightning. After leaving Friday’s come-from-behind win against the Hurricanes with an upper-body injury, Ullmark was back with the team today at practice. His 13 wins, .935 save percentage, and 2.00 goals-against average all lead the NHL. Forward Trent Frederic was also back at practice today after missing two games, while Craig Smith will miss tomorrow’s game with an upper-body injury suffered against the Hurricanes and is day-to-day.
  • Defenseman Ryan Lindgren took warmups for the New York Rangers tonight and could return from an upper-body injury against the New Jersey Devils, per NHL.com’s Dan Rosen. Lindgren left Saturday’s game against the Edmonton Oilers and was day-to-day but may avoid missing any time if he plays tonight.

Injury Notes: Ullmark, Smith, Slafkovsky, Howden

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The Boston Bruins today became the first team in NHL history to record twelve straight home wins to start a season, but amid that history-making came some bad news. Number-one goalie Linus Ullmark, whose heroics this season have played a major role in the Bruins’ rise, went down with an injury and needed to be relieved by backup netminder Jeremy Swayman. Additionally, forward Craig Smith also left the game with an injury.

Thankfully for Boston, though, the team is optimistic about the status of their two players. Ty Anderson of 98.5 The Sports Hub reports that the Bruins believe both Ullmark and Smith are out on just a day-to-day timeline. That being said, though, he does add on that they “don’t know anything definitive yet.” While the Bruins remain optimistic about their two injured players, this will definitely be something to monitor moving forward.

Now, for some other injury notes from across the NHL:

  • The Montreal Canadiens had a bit of an injury scare today when Juraj Slafkovsky got shaken up by a hit from Chicago Blackhawks forward Jason Dickinson. Slafkovsky did return to the bench by the end of the game to witness his team’s shootout victory, and after the game coach Martin St. Louis sounded optimistic about the state of his team’s prized young forward. While we don’t have full confirmation that Slafkovsky wasn’t injured on the play, it does seem like he and the Canadiens escaped the worst there.
  • The Vegas Golden Knights have announced that forward Brett Howden will miss tonight’s game with a lower-body injury. No further details beyond that were released. Howden, 24, has been a bottom-six forward for the Golden Knights this season and has three points 21 games.

Atlantic Notes: Portillo, Red Wings, Smith

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While the Sabres still have another year and a bit to sign goaltending prospect Erik Portillo, Lance Lysowski of The Buffalo News notes that there are doubts both internally and league-wide that the netminder will actually sign with Buffalo.  The 21-year-old was a third-round pick back in 2019 (67th overall) and was quite impressive with Michigan last season, posting a 2.14 GAA along with a .926 SV% in 42 games.  While Portillo has two years of college eligibility remaining, he will be eligible to opt for free agency next August since it will be four years since he has been drafted.  If Buffalo isn’t able to sign him after the 2022-23 college season, it wouldn’t be surprising to see them try to trade his rights to a team he’d be willing to sign with.

Elsewhere in the Atlantic:

  • While the Red Wings had the cap space to get involved in the chase for John Klingberg, Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press outlines why they didn’t. Such a move would have forced them to trade Filip Hronek and with the trade market being as weak as it is right now, GM Steve Yzerman would have been hard-pressed to get full value in return, even with Hronek being on a team-friendly deal for two more years.  They have over $10MM in cap space, per CapFriendly, and while that amount will go down once Filip Zadina and Jake Walman re-sign, they’re well-positioned financially to try to add someone as the offseason progresses.
  • If the Bruins are forced to make a cap-shedding trade to accompany Pavel Zacha’s eventual deal plus the potential returns of UFAs Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci, Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe suggests that winger Craig Smith is the likely candidate to be moved. The 32-year-old has one year left on his contract with a $3.1MM cap hit.  He has been pretty consistent in recent years, notching at least 13 goals and 31 points in each of the last four seasons and is coming off a 36-point campaign.  Unlike some teams that are trying to shed negative-value contracts, Smith’s isn’t in that category but with so few squads looking to take on money, Boston would be hard-pressed to get a quality return for the veteran if they have to go that route.

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