The Bruins haven’t been shy this season when it comes to waiving veterans. On Sunday, Craig Smith joined the list of elder Bruins that have been waived by the organization.
Whether or not he lands in Providence or is claimed on waivers remains to be seen.
The Bruins signed Smith after the winger spent nine seasons in Nashville where he played a big top-six role at times. The Bruins signed Smith to a three-year, $9.3 million deal in October of 2020. Smith was coming off a 18-13-31 season the year prior.
When signing Smith, the hope was he would continue the success he found in Nashville, likely in a middle-six role.
Bruins fans quickly got introduced to Smith’s shot-happy game, the winger scoring 13 times his first season, 16 his second.
But here and now, Smith has struggled with consistency and because of it, he’s been in and out of head coach Jim Montgomery’s lineup.
In 17 games, Smith has just one goal and three assists.
With the 33-year old’s role diminishing over the last month, Smith is averaging a career low 9:51 of ice time per game. Smith appeared in Saturday’s win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, picking up an assist in his 8:49 of ice time.
It’s no secret the Bruins have been trying to move Smith and his $3.1 million cap hit but haven’t found any takers.
With the drop in production and the Bruins top-six being as skillful as it is, bottom-six minutes have been tough for Smith to find.
Trent Frederic, Charlie Coyle and Taylor Hall have provided the Bruins with a skillful third line while Nick Foligno, Tomas Nosek and A.J. Greer have come together to form a heavy fourth line.
According to
Cap Friendly the Bruins have $33,693 in cap space prior to the waiving of Smith
Boston Bruins Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»