Boston Bruins: Craig Smith signing could be a bargain deal by Sweeney

Craig Smith has the potential to be a bargain deal for the Bruins and Don Sweeney.

In the first two weeks of free agency, Boston Bruins general manager Don Sweeney has re-signed defenseman Matt Grzelcyk, Kevan Miller and forwards Karson Kuhlman and Zach Senyshyn. The Bruins know what they are getting in those four players.

On the second day of free agency on Oct. 10, Sweeney and the Bruins signed former Nashville Predator Craig Smith to a three-year, $9.3 million deal. If Smith can do for the Bruins what he has done for the Predators in his first nine years in the league, this will be a very good bargain deal for Boston.

Smith was drafted in the fourth round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft by Nashville. In five of his first nine seasons, he has scored at least 20 goals a season. This past season in a shortened 69-game regular season, he was on the verge of a sixth 20-goal season before the season was paused because of the coronavirus pandemic with him sitting on 18.

Smith will be a middle-six forward for the Bruins, but he also will add depth to their second power-play unit. With 42 career power-play goals, the 6-foot-1, 208-pound physical Smith is not afraid to be a net-front presence on the man advantage. He had 162 career goals for the Predators.

Last season, the Bruins top line of David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand was one of the top-scoring lines in the NHL. Pastrnak shared the Maurice Rocket Richard Award with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals as the top goal scorers with 48. Bergeron had 31 goals and Marchand had 28 to go along with 59 assists.

After the first line, the Bruins struggled to find secondary scoring. Nobody scored more than19 goals by Jake DeBrusk, who is still currently a restricted free agent. Charlie Coyle had 16 goals and David Krejci added 13. After that, nobody else had more than nine.

A deadline trade that got right wing Ondrej Kase from the Anaheim Ducks did not work out for the Bruins on their second line. He had one assist in six regular-season games and in 11 playoff games, he had just four assists. Nick Ritchie, also acquired from the Ducks, scored on playoff goal and struggled to stay out of the penalty box at key moments during the postseason.

If the 31-year old Smith can score 20 or more goals a season for the Bruins and add power-play production, a $3.1 million annual cap hit that Sweeney was able to workout will look like a very good bargain for an underrated forward.