As NHL training camp cuts come down, there is a daily parade of players on the waiver wire at noon each day. Since Friday, when waivers opened, the names have been expected. However, there was a surprise today. The Ottawa Senators have waived forward Zack Smith.
Ottawa places Zack Smith on waivers.
— Darren Dreger (@DarrenDreger) September 25, 2018
The move came as a shock to his teammates, and perhaps even his coach.
Matt Duchene says Zack Smith being waived today “is a kick in the balls for us in this locker room”
— TSN 1200 (@TSN1200) September 25, 2018
Zack Smith was centring Mark Stone and Brady Tkachuk yesterday. Guy Boucher said his plan was to keep him there throughout this week.
Clearly the coach didn’t see this coming either. #Sens
— Kyle Bukauskas (@SNkylebukauskas) September 25, 2018
Zack Smith Waived
The Senators placed the 30-year-old winger on waivers today. Smith is a normally reliable defensive forward who is versatile. He can play both centre and left wing. Last season, he scored five goals and 14 assists for 19 points in 68 games. He also has a 47.9 faceoff win percentage. Smith had a Corsi For above 50 percent with a relative Corsi For of +4.1 and +2.9 in the 2015-2016 and 2016-2017 seasons respectively. However, his Corsi For percentage has dropped significantly last year to 46.0 percent on a struggling Senators squad. His Relative Corsi also fell, down to -1.3. Smith’s scoring rate has also dropped significantly since scoring 25 goals two years ago.
He was originally drafted in the third round, 79th overall of the 2008 NHL Draft by the Senators.
The Senators are likely hoping that another team will claim Smith and allow them to shed further salary in their rebuild. Smith has three years and $9.75 million ($3.25 million per season AAV) left on his contract.
If a team were to claim Smith, they would do so hoping that he will regain his scoring touch and provide defensive depth as they look to improve their squad.
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