It's late August, which can only mean one thing: NHL training camps are not that far off. As teams begin to make preparations for their camps, we're seeing some notable veterans earn professional tryout agreements (PTOs) around the league. On Tuesday, the Blue Jackets announced one of their own, with veteran defenseman Brendan Smith being named a camp invitee.
I'll be the first to admit that right away, this one seemed like a head scratcher. But, as I've thought deeper into the player and situation; bringing Smith to camp actually does make a little bit of sense. This is exactly the kind of player I would expect Don Waddell and Dean Evason to want to explore adding to the mix. First of all, he fits right into the culture they are trying to build here:
""He (Smith) is a veteran presence with great character and professionalism, and we are excited to have the opportunity to bring him to camp.”"Don Waddell
A veteran of 726 regular season NHL games, Smith has been around the league for a long time. He was originally drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the first round (#27 overall) at the 2007 NHL Draft, and he spent 6 seasons with the Wings after debuting with them in the 2011-12 campaign.
He then spent 5 years with the New York Rangers, then the last four years split with Carolina, New Jersey, and Dallas. Last year with the Stars, he registered 1 goal and 6 points in 32 games. For his career, he's scored 39 goals, 144 points and posted a -15 rating; along with 787 penalty minutes. It's an impressive career for a guy that has flown under the radar a little bit.
From a Blue Jackets perspective, you might be confused as to why they would want to look at bringing in another defenseman. I'll admit that I was confused myself when the invitation was first announced. The team is returning 7 defensemen from last year's roster, with Zach Werenski, Dante Fabbro, Ivan Provorov, Denton Mateychuk, Damon Severson, Erik Gudbranson, and Jake Christiansen all signed for the upcoming year.
There is only enough room for 6 guys in a healthy lineup, so from a first glance, they seem to be pretty well set at the position. They've also bolstered their AHL team with a couple of veterans, signing Christian Jaros and Dysin Mayo to two-way deals over the summer. Either of them should be able to act as a filler between Columbus and Cleveland, when needed.
But, if you take a step back and analyze things a little bit further, bringing on a guy like Brendan Smith could make a lot of sense. First, look at the hand each of these defensemen shoot with. The Jackets are 5 guys deep on the right side, if you include Jaros and Mayo. But, they are only 4 deep on the right side, with Christiansen likely serving as this team's 7th man. Smith is a left shot, which would even things out. We always hear that you need 10 defensemen to get through an NHL season. This makes sense.
If the injuries started to add up on the left side, they would have to dive into their prospect pool for replacements. That's not ideal. We have spent a lot of this summer pointing out that Waddell's plan seems to be keeping prospects in the AHL for as long as he possibly can; until they actually play their way into the lineup.
There is also another thing to consider here: Smith is a bit of a utility guy, who could even fill in at forward if need be. This wouldn't be ideal, but he has played there in the past and would not be completely lost if called upon. At the very least, he can eat up 8-10 minutes on the fourth line, win some puck battles and keep things simple.
This would allow the team to avoid keeping a player like Mikael Pyyhtia around to sit in the press box, allowing him to instead play heavier minutes back in Cleveland, continuing his development. At the moment, there is no obvious 23rd man on this roster. Smith could be that missing piece.
He still has to earn a contract.
At the moment, Brendan Smith is just a camp invitee. There's no commitment here from the organization, other than a roster spot to try out for the team.
We will see if he impresses this coaching staff and the team's management enough to actually earn that contract at training camp this fall. However, inviting him to join the team for the preseason really makes a lot of sense. This is exactly the kind of player the team needs around. He could be a Jack Johnson type of fit in the locker room, helping mentor this young group.