The Maple Leafs are all set for the expansion draft after signing Ben Smith to a one-year contract worth $650,000 on Tuesday.
After getting claimed off of waivers in late October, Smith centered the Leafs‘ fourth line for the better part of two months before a hand injury requiring surgery sidelined him in mid-December. The Leafs tried out Frederik Gauthier in the role and Smith played a few games there post-injury before the organization eventually found a proper solution in the form of Brian Boyle at the trade deadline.
In 40 games this season, Smith recorded two goals and two assists while playing 11:28 per night, including 2:13 on the penalty kill. His 0.65 pts/60 was worst among Leafs forwards, and his 41.9% CF was worst among Leafs skaters. His pts/60 ranked 401 of 434 among NHL forwards with more than 200 minutes played this season, and his CF% ranked 655 of 670 among all NHL skaters (>200 minutes 5v5 TOI).
While he’s a capable faceoff man (51.4%), Smith isn’t an NHL player and should only serve as depth for the team in case of injuries next year. Whether it’s bringing back Brian Boyle or bringing in someone else, the Leafs will need to find a solution for the fourth-line center role that isn’t Ben Smith this offseason.
Expansion Draft
For the expansion draft in June, each team must expose three players (two forwards and one defenceman) who meet the minimum NHL games played requirement of 40 in the 2016-17 season or 70 in the 2015-16 and 2016-17 seasons combined.
With 40 big-club appearances this season, Smith qualifies as an NHL player for the expansion draft, giving the Leafs their two forwards under contract for 2016-17 who meet the 40/70 requirements: Smith and Eric Fehr. The club is also able to protect Matt Martin now rather than expose him in order to meet the experience requirements.
Tyler Bozak, James van Riemsdyk, Nazem Kadri, Leo Komarov, Martin and Connor Brown make up the six forwards the Leafs will almost certainly protect, leaving one remaining spot for the following draft-eligible forwards: Josh Leivo, Brendan Leipsic, and Kerby Rychel.
The Leafs have two options who meet the 40/70 requirement on defence available to them in Martin Marincin and Alexey Marchenko, both of whom are signed through 2017-18. On the blue line, with Nikita Zaitsev exempt, the Leafs will certainly protect Jake Gardiner and Morgan Rielly and then will need to choose between Marincin and Connor Carrick for the final spot, assuming they go with the seven forwards/three defencemen protection scheme.
