The Edmonton Oiler seem to be beefing up for a run at 8th place as they’ve traded for Jerred Smithson out of Florida. Smithson has 2 goals and 3 assists in 35 games for the Panthers this season, the 34 year old centre was good for about 15 points a year when he was with the Predators.
Smithson starts most of his shifts in the defensive zone, but has played against weak competition for the last two seasons while getting outplayed massively on possession. He’s a -14.8 in Relative Corsi this season.
It’s likely that the Oilers acquired him from the Panthers for his faceoff ability, as he sits at 54.8% in the dot so far this year. That’s a pretty weak reason to acquire a player that’s pretty awful at everything else, but the Oilers are only giving up a 4th round pick, so it’s not a trade that should be viewed too negatively for 4th line depth.
Check out Copper and Blue for more analysis.
