Mark Smith Update

Smitty lands in Calgary

As many San Jose Sharks fans know, former team coach Darryl Sutter loves signing players that he's coached in the past. All you have to do is to take a look at the Calgary Flames linuep to see what I'm talking about. On their bench, there are a lot of faces that San Jose fans should recognize, and you can now add Mark Smith's mug to that list.

During the offseason, the Sharks organization had talks with unrestricted free agent Mark Smith to try and work out a contract. However, sometime during the summer, Sharks fans heard through the grapevine that the lead singer of the Vinyl Trees was in New York, attending the Rangers' camp on a tryout basis. The lack of an announcement by the Sharks organization kept fans in the dark, and I think team executives probably wanted it that way.

Smitty was a fan favorite; a hard-working, tough fighter who grew up in the organization, and somehow made his way to the NHL as a ninth round pick. He never was a sniper, but somehow he always chipped in a goal or two during the playoffs. More importantly, he was a gritty fighter; a role player who did his job well. Whenever Coach Ron Wilson needed some toughness or momentum, you could find number 16 out on the ice.

Mark was a victim of the Sharks' system which is extremely deep with talent. With players such as Setoguchi, Mitchell, Kaspar, and others looking to reach the NHL, there wasn't much room for a role player. As a result, he ended up in New York playing a couple of preseason games before rejecting the Rangers' offer of a two-way contract. To be honest, I can't blame him. Smith is an established NHLer who's shown that he can play, and to potentially make less money in the minors shouldn't be an option.

Fortunately for Mark, he will be joining Owen Nolan, Wayne Primeau, and Miikka Kiprusoff who are currently on the Flames' roster. Smith was awarded a one year contract worth $487,500; at $37,000 above the league minimum, the Flames received a pretty good discount in my opinion.

While making his debut with Calgary last night against the Sharks, Smith said, "I'm excited to play my old teammates and give them a hard time." Funny, but I wouldn't expect anything less...

A San Jose Sharks Blog