Devils agree to terms with Smith

*Photo from the News and Observer*

   Something that is commonly agreed upon in hockey circles is that you can never have enough defensemen. The New Jersey Devils and D Brendan Smith have agreed to a two year deal, according to an announcement from the team.

    What the Devils are getting in Smith is a 33 year old veteran defenseman who is a left shot and primarily a left defenseman, but he can also fill in on the right side when necessary. Smith is by no means a defenseman who will rack up points and light up the scoresheet, but a traditional rearguard who throws his body around and plays a physical game.

   After coming off a one year deal worth $800,000 with the Carolina Hurricanes last season, Smith is now off to northern New Jersey on a two year agreement. Smith will get a pay raise, making $1.1 million annually, making the deal worth $2.2 million over the course of both years.

   Smith said of signing with the Devils that "Looking at Jersey, all those young guys are a year older and I think they're ready to take that step. I think for myself, I can kind of fill that area of maybe a physical veteran defenseman with a little bit of a voice and maybe help these guys grow in an area to take that next step. So I think for myself that will be a lot of fun. I felt myself doing that before when I was with the Rangers and some of the young guys with the Hurricanes, so I'm looking forward to it."

   Last season with the Hurricanes, Smith scored 4 goals and added another 4 assists, averaging 13:55 of ice time with a +6 plus/minus rating in 45 regular season games for the Hurricanes. Smith added one goal and 3 assists in 14 playoff games.

   In his career, spanning 11 seasons, Smith has 33 goals and 85 assists, posting a -6 plus/minus rating in 16:30 of ice time per game, playing in 571 regular season games. Smith has an additional 3 goals and 11 assists in 56 career playoff games.

   The signing of Smith is only the second notable move of the offseason for the Devils, who also traded Pavel Zacha to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Erik Haula.