Mike Smith is committed to the Arizona Coyotes.
The All-Star goalie hasn't thought about potentially waiving his no-trade clause, adding he's happy in the desert and sees himself as an active part in turning things around for the 29th-place club.
"Obviously, everyone wants to be in a position to win and get in the playoffs and be a competitive team and that’s no different for me," Smith told Sarah McLellan of azcentral.com. "I think I want to be in a position to have a chance to win before my career’s over, but I feel like this is moving in the right direction. Things can turn around fairly quickly here. I want to be a big part of that.
"To sign a long-term deal at that time with young kids, to be in one place for a longer period of time and to call a place home, I think was as important as believing in what we were doing here," he continued. "I don’t regret that for a second. I think it set me up to play a lot of games."
General manager John Chayka acknowledged that teams haven't been calling to assess Smith's availability due to a belief that there isn't much point in inquiring rather than a lack of interest.
"We’re trying to grow, and he’s a key cog of that growth for us," Chayka said.
Smith, 34, remains under contract with the Coyotes until the end of the 2018-19 season at a salary cap hit of $5.67 million. While he's not racking up wins with the Coyotes, he has posted a solid .917 save percentage, no small feat on a team that low in the standings.
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