Welcome to LWOS Hockey’s summer series. After the historic 2016 NHL Free Agency period, it’s a good time to look at the best free agent signing in the history of all 30 NHL franchises. Up next: The all-time best Arizona Coyotes free agent signing.
Make sure to check out the previous articles in our 2016 summer series here.
The All-time Best Arizona Coyotes Free Agent Signing
2011 – Mike Smith: Two years, $4 million
The Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes best free agent signing has some contenders, but no single player did more for the desert-dwelling franchise than goaltender Mike Smith. He originally came to the team in 2011, signing a two-year deal worth $2 million per season, and was extended for six more years at $5.6 per year in 2013.
The Player
Originally a 2001 5th round draft pick of the Dallas Stars (161 overall), the Stars would take their time with Smith. Smith played in the OHL with the Kingston Frontenacs, with subpar results. But a trade to the Sudbury Wolves would see the 6’4 215-pound netminder post a .914 save percentage in 96 appearances.
Smith would go on to hone his craft in the minors for the Lexington Men O’War, Utah Grizzlies, Houston Aeros, and Iowa Stars. He would post solid statistics at the minors levels, much as he did in the OHL.
Smith would finally break into the NHL in the 2006-07 season. He would play 44 games with a 24-14-2 record and 2.34 goals against average, and .909 save percentage while deep in the heart of Texas.
Despite early success, the Stars traded Smith to the Tampa Bay Lightning on February 28, 2008, along with Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern and Dallas 2009 4th round pick for Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist.
Over the next three years, Smith would be part of the revolving door of the Bolts crease. Smith would never appear in more than 42 games in a season for Tampa Bay, sharing time with Karri Ramo, Mike McKenna, Olaf Kolzig, and Dustin Tokarski, among others.
After three years as part of the Lightning goalie carousel and with diminishing numbers, Tampa Bay let Smith enter the unrestricted free agent market in the summer of 2011.
The Deal
The Coyotes had leaned on Ilya Bryzgalov‘s goaltending for years, but knew they could not afford to re-sign him. When Phoenix finally traded his rights to the Philadelphia Flyers, not many pegged the Coyotes as a landing spot for Smith. The Coyotes did end up signing the journeyman goaltender to be the starting goaltender on a two-year, $4 million contract. It was a move that made more than a few fans wonder if the physically imposing but statistically mediocre Smith was ready for the starting role.
The Result
In their not-so-long history, the Coyotes never won a playoff round despite semi-frequent appearances in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, going 0-7 in quarterfinals matchups. In the 2011-12 season with Smith in net the club would see their first series victory and the upstart Coyotes landed in the conference finals against the Los Angeles Kings before bowing out 4-1 to the eventual Stanley Cup champions.
Smith’s fantastic season would set career marks across the board, most of which still stand as his personal bests, including save percentage (.930) goals-against average (2.21), shutouts (8), appearances (67) and minutes played (3,903).
Smith’s statistics would see a slide back to his career average during the lockout-shortened 2012-13 campaign. Despite his later regression back to his career mean, the Coyotes locked up the man who had delivered the best postseason run in franchise history to a six-year, $34 million contract. Smith was fighting through injury to begin the 2015-16 season and in December was put on the injured reserve list after surgery to repair core muscles. Smith returned to the Coyotes lineup on March 12 and in his first game back, shutout the Edmonton Oilers, stopping all 44 shots for his 29th career shutout.
The surgery quickly brought Smith back to form. Including the shutout of the Oilers, Smith would start 10 games after the surgery, going 5-4-1 with a 1.81 goals-against average and .944 save percentage.
Smith would become somewhat of a cautionary tale of signing goaltenders to long, expensive contracts after a single outlying year. Could the nagging core injury finally be solved and corrected? Could he return to the form that saw him finish 4th in Vezina Trophy voting back in 2012? Perhaps. But however next season plays out, his stability in net for the Coyotes makes Smith the franchise’s best free agent signing ever.
Make sure to check out the previous articles in our 2016 summer series here.
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