Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Brendan Smith: resurrected career while playing hybrid role this season

April 8, 2020, 12:51 PM ET [33 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Larry Brooks is providing player evaluations daily in the NY Post, an exercise that began the past Monday. The order is by last name, and while he is not giving a grade, he is giving a sort of high-level assessment. Since it's my hope that we will have hockey, I thought it might be interesting to take one or a few aspects of his daily column along with his closure  - the latter in italics - and provide my view, then receive yours in the comments. I will try and do this daily, and have covered Lias Andersson, Pavel Buchnevich, Filip Chytil, Tony DeAngelo, Jesper Fast, Adam Fox,  Alexandar Georgiev, Brett Howden, Kaapo Kakko and Chris Kreider, Brendan Lemieux, Ryan Lindgren, Henrik Lundqvist, Greg McKegg, Artemi Panarin and Igor Shesterkin. Today, it's Brendan Smith.

Smith

When the Rangers traded Brady Skjei to Carolina at the Feb. 24 deadline and were in need of a left defenseman, they did not summon Libor Hajek from the AHL Wolf Pack, but rather shifted Smith back to defense, where he partnered with Trouba for the team’s final nine games.

Smith had been a healthy scratch for the four previous games and eight of the previous 10 matches. He had played only two full games on defense to that point of the season, in mid-February when Marc Staal and Tony DeAngelo were sidelined for one match apiece.

But when he stepped in beside Trouba, he did the job. Indeed, the pair did the job, on for only three goals against in 110:31 as a tandem through those nine games played in the midst of a playoff race, per Naturalstattrick.com. It was not the most elegant pair in franchise history, but the duo was physical and made it difficult on the opposition.

Smith provided value all season, even if you think it was crazy for an NHL team to use a defenseman on the wing. There aren’t many anymore who fit the definition of being that type of hybrid player.


We all know the contract Smith scored after his excellent work in the 2017 playoffs against Montreal and Ottawa while paired with Skjei — four years at $4.525 million per for a career defenseman who became primarily a fourth-line winger — has not held up well. But you have to recall how good Smith was in the playoffs after he was acquired from Detroit at the deadline.

The problem was, Smith arrived at the ensuing training camp out of shape after a summer in which he got married and attended numerous weddings. His play was so deficient, he was waived through the league to Hartford at age 28 with more than 350 NHL games to his credit. He got into a fight with Wolf Pack teammate Vinni Lettieri, broke his hand, and was done for the year after 11 games. He seemed done as an NHL player.

Rather, he rededicated himself, showed up in great shape the following camp, and, almost as a shock, earned a spot on the roster. It did not hurt that he and then-incoming coach David Quinn had a longtime relationship dating back to when the coach attempted to recruit Smith for Boston University. Apparently Quinn did not hold it against him for choosing Wisconsin instead.

The obstacles were of his own making, of course, but Smith overcame them. The work he invested to reclaim his career was truly impressive. Ideally, the Rangers will have a legitimate fourth-line winger next year and one of the young lefties will be able to earn a regular spot. That would endanger Smith’s tenure. If amnesty buyouts come into the picture, that would jeopardize No. 42’s spot as well.

But that does not change 2019-20 and the value provided by Smith up-front, and more critically on defense as Jacob Trouba’s partner.


Smith has been bought out and written off more times than I can count. But, as Brooks noted and we have discussed, he resurrected his career the last two seasons. This year, he fitted in nicely on the fourth line, and then when the need arose, deftly shifted back to defense.
He may have played the best with Trouba, as Brady Skjei was very up-and-down at best and Tony DeAngelo really did get much of a chance as a pair mate. Smith was a very expensive hybrid player, though that doesn't detract from the year he had. In addition. Smith was used on the penalty kill, even when playing forward.

In terms of pecking order for an amnesty (if one is allowed) or regular buyout, Smith is behind Henrik Lundqvist. We get into personal preference when debating Smith or Marc Staal, as I felt Staal - who I will cover after the holiday - had a pretty darn good year despite getting written off the team almost daily. If New York does receive an amnesty buyout, they may elect to only go that route, keeping Smith and Staal due to Kevin Shattenkirk's $6 million of dead cap space, up from $1.48 mil this year.

Smith earned his place this season and I would have no real issues having him back next season. His role, however, will depend on what the Rangers do in the off-season and if any of the future kiddie corps on the blue line is ready for prime time. If the latter proves to be none, then Smith should be back on defense.

As a reminder, I will be out of pocket starting tonight through Saturday night due to the first two days of Passover and the Sabbath. The following week, I am off the grid from Tuesday through Thursday night. I don't expect to miss much given the current situation, but will resume the blogs when i return.

Join the Discussion: » 33 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Jan Levine
» Rangers find way to notch 3-2 shootout win over Avalanche
» Rangers face Avalanche as Ryan Lindgren returns to the lineup
» Rangers clinch playoff berth with barn burner 6-5 OT win over the Flyers
» Rangers face Flyers with chance to clinch playoff berth
» Rangers rally twice to defeat Panthers 4-3 in a shootout