The Arizona Coyotes goaltender was pulled by concussion spotters Monday night after he was in a third-period collision with Anaheim Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg, and Smith remains unhappy about what went down, as he wasn't able to get back into the game until it was just about over.
"I think there's a lot of flaws in the system, especially with the goalie position, and it needs to get fixed," Smith said, according to azcentralsports' Bob McManaman. "What stops a fourth liner from going out and bumping a goalie? It's just a two-minute penalty to get your starting goalie out?"
Smith said unless changes are implemented, that exact scenario will happen in the playoffs. His goalie mask was knocked off Monday in the collision with Silfverberg, and he believes that played a part in his being called off the ice.
Smith brought up another good point: If the starting goalie is removed from the game after a collision, what happens if the backup is bumped, and he needs to be checked for a concussion? Who plays goal?
NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was contacted by McManaman on the issue, and said that while the league is always trying to improve the system, it will remain in place as is for the remainder of the season and the playoffs.
Ryan Callahan won't be rejoining the Tampa Bay Lightning any time soon.
The Tampa Bay Lightning forward is out indefinitely after having a follow-up surgical procedure Tuesday on his injured right hip, the club announced Wednesday.
Callahan has played 18 games this season, but he's been out since Jan. 7 with the nagging ailment, for which he underwent an initial operation in June that forced him to miss the World Cup of Hockey in September.
In mid-January, the Lightning announced he'd miss another month.
Drew Miller is hoping his stay in the AHL is brief.
Sent to the minors by the Detroit Red Wings earlier in February, the 33-year-old forward would like the opportunity to play elsewhere.
"Hopefully, I get traded," he told MLive. "I want to be in the NHL - everyone wants to be there - so we'll see how it goes."
The NHL's trade deadline is set for March 1, and Miller expects action to pick up on the market, hopefully involving a ticket out of Grand Rapids for himself.
"That's what (the Red Wings have) been trying to do is just wait to see what teams may be looking to add and have a good fit," Miller said. "No one's really making a move yet, but I would think that will change as we get closer."
Miller, who has his name on the Stanley Cup as a member of the 2007 Anaheim Ducks, is on a one-year deal that carries a cap hit of $1.025 million. He scored five goals and added an assist in 35 games with Detroit this season.
The Toronto Maple Leafs forward caught the Winnipeg Jets defenseman with a big hit near the end of the second period of the Leafs' overtime win Tuesday night.
Kadri wasn't penalized for the check, which led to Chiarot making a rather ominous statement after the game.
"When you see the video, you see him leave his feet (and) you see him end up in their bench," Chiarot said. "That's fine. It's not the right time or place to chase him down, but there will be a time down the line - it might not be this year, it might not be next year - but there will be a time (when) the shoe will be on the other foot."
When asked about the incident Wednesday, Kadri said he was just trying to finish his check, and when told of Chiarot's threat, the Leafs center couldn't help but chuckle.
"That's not the first time I've heard that, that's for sure," he told reporters with a laugh, as relayed by TSN's Mark Masters.
Kadri insisted that he wasn't rattled by the Jets blue-liner's remarks when asked about them again later in the scrum.
"I'm not worried at all. I'll be here for hopefully a few years, but ... if that (were) one of my teammates getting hit like that, I probably wouldn't be too happy, so I expect that kind of reaction," he said.
The Leafs and Jets don't meet again in this regular season, so any retaliation will have to wait.
Life is interesting for soon-to-be unrestricted free agents in the days leading up to the NHL's trade deadline, especially for players on teams likely to miss the playoffs.
Such is the case in Vancouver, where Canucks goalie Ryan Miller appears to be keeping his options open, according to Rick Dhaliwal of NEWS 1130.
Ryan Miller's agent Mike Liut says he will talk to Miller this week about all the possibilities surrounding the trade deadline. #Canucks
Miller, 36, is in the final year of a deal that carries a $6-million cap hit, and he could be the kind of goalie contending teams are looking for in preparation for a deep playoff run.
Miller's deal does include a list of five teams to whom he can be traded, although that route has not been decided on quite yet.
Liut appreciates all the Miller trade talk but says nothing has been decided by his client. #Canucks
The last time the Maple Leafs defeated the Canadiens, 11 players on their current roster had yet to make their NHL debut.
The date was Jan. 18, 2014, when Randy Carlyle manned the bench and Brendan Shanahan had yet to take the reins as Leafs president and alternate governor. Thirteen games have been played between the two teams since, with the Habs skating to wins in each of those contests.
The Leafs will hope to end the long-standing drought in the Original Six rivalry with a win on home ice this Saturday, and the matchup will be the league’s most expensive game this week. On TicketIQ, a leading search engine pooling ticket data from over 90 percent of the resale market, Maple Leafs versus Canadiens tickets are averaging $495.
Barring a playoff berth, Saturday’s game will be the most expensive game remaining at Air Canada Centre this season. The cheapest tickets currently fetch for $157 each.
This weekend’s matchup will be the third priciest between the two teams in Toronto since 2010, when TicketIQ began tracking resale ticket data. Only a February 2012 game ($530 average) and last month's game ($553 average) owned a higher average price.
Saturdays game comes at a pivotal point in the season for both teams. The Leafs sit third in the Atlantic Division in a crowded Eastern Conference playoff picture. The Canadiens own the fifth seed in the conference, though are very much on the postseason bubble as five teams trail by six points or less.
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Sam Bennett did not emerge unscathed from Tuesday's game in Nashville.
The Calgary Flames forward was forced to spend the morning in the dentist's chair while undergoing a root canal after taking an errant high stick.
After taking an stick to the mouth last night, Sam Bennett got a root canal & 10 stitches. He says he's ready for tomorrow's game! #warriorpic.twitter.com/RxCU4coXZQ
Not only has Canadian rap artist SVDVM recorded a track called "Auston Matthews," there's even a music video:
(Warning: Song contains some explicit language)
SVDVM was in Ottawa at the phenomenal NHL debut of prized Toronto Maple Leafs rookie Auston Matthews, who dropped a ridiculous four goals against the Senators. Hence the line, "Hit 'em with the four like Auston Matthews."
Music is art, and art is beautiful.
Good luck trying to get that track out of your head.
One glaring weakness has plagued the Boston Bruins through two years of missing the playoffs, and ultimately led to the eventual firing of longtime, highly successful head coach Claude Julien: defense, defense, defense.
The lack thereof, more specifically, has been a problem.
How they got here
Prior to and immediately after the 2014-15 season, the Bruins traded Johnny Boychuk and Dougie Hamilton to the New York Islanders and Calgary Flames, respectively. Neither was sufficiently replaced in the top-two pairings until this season, and it happened almost by accident.
Twenty-year-old Brandon Carlo is averaging 21:19 on the Bruins' blue line, the third-highest average ice time on the team and third among all rookie defensemen. He's also chipped in four goals and nine assists and is a positive possession player at even strength.
That Boston is relying on him so heavily at this stage of his career speaks volumes about its deficiencies at the position.
Somehow, Carlo's name has popped up in trade reports, mostly linking him to his home state of Colorado in a deal involving Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog.
Boston would be foolish to make such deal, and here's why.
System stocked
(Photo courtesy: Getty Images)
Over the past two drafts, the Bruins have managed to stock up on promising defensive prospects, with Carlo representing just one piece of a much-needed rebuild at the position.
2016: Charlie McAvoy (14th), Ryan Lindgren (49th)
2015: Jakub Zboril (13th), Carlo (37th), Jeremy Lauzon (52nd)
Going further back, players like Linus Arnesson (60th in 2013), Matt Grzelcyk (85th in 2012), and Rob O'Gara (151st in 2011) are already in the AHL, but the jury's still out on whether they can make the leap to the big club.
Meanwhile, Zdeno Chara is nearing the end of his run as defensive stalwart, and Torey Krug sticks out as the only sure thing moving forward, ill-advised contract extensions handed to Adam McQuaid and Kevan Miller notwithstanding.
When Boston's already working from a position of weakness, it would not seem prudent to tap into this pipeline to shore up a relatively solid forward core, especially when teams are rightfully asking for the likes of Carlo and McAvoy.
Playoff drought would continue
It's as simple as this: If the Bruins deal Carlo, they'd weaken an already troubled position and therefore greatly limit their chances of making the playoffs for the first time since 2014.
With a week to go before the trade deadline, heading into Wednesday's game in Anaheim, the Bruins rank first in Corsi For at five-on-five (55.41) but 29th in shooting percentage (6.21).
In other words, the Bruins as currently constructed are due for an offensive uptick, and signs of life have already sprouted with 16 goals in four games under interim head coach Bruce Cassidy.
The goals will come as the team's shooting percentage climbs closer to league average. That means it's not really necessary to weaken the blue line in search of a forward, especially one like Landeskog whose shot rate has dropped in each of the past four seasons.
General manager Don Sweeney would be wise to stay the course and trust the process, believing the roster as it stands can and will make the playoffs. Whether he's overruled from on high remains to be seen, but it would only set the Bruins back further than they've already fallen.
Pierre Dorion has his owner's blessing when it comes to dealing before the trade deadline.
The Ottawa Senators general manager told Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch on Wednesday that Eugene Melnyk has given him the go-ahead to make a move "to get the team to the playoffs."
The Senators sit second in the Atlantic Division, two points behind the Montreal Canadiens for first with a pair of games in hand, but they're suddenly smarting up front with a long-term injury to Bobby Ryan, while top-ranked and third-ranked goal-scorers Mark Stone and Mike Hoffman recently suffered less severe but still concerning ailments.
Dorion hopes the latter pair will be able to play Sunday in Sunrise against the Florida Panthers, but he also acknowledged that if he does anything before next Wednesday's 3 p.m. ET deadline, it'll be at the forward position.
Speaking of forwards, the GM also said he's received calls from other teams about Curtis Lazar, but added that his first choice is to hold on to the 22-year-old right-winger, who's a pending restricted free agent.
While he does have the green light to make a trade, Dorion cautioned that prices are high and said he owes it to the organization to be patient.
The Senators have five pending UFAs, including backup goaltender Mike Condon and depth forward Tom Pyatt, and the GM said contract talks with those two players will pick back up after the deadline.
As for what the roster will look like when the dust clears next Wednesday afternoon, Dorion expressed his desire to make a move, but understands it might not happen.
"There is a good chance we go into (the stretch run) after March 1 with the same team we have now, (but) we would like to do something," he said, according to TSN's Brent Wallace.
