Craig Smith

[Fighting_Emu]

Where does he fit in the lineup? What are we expecting? Nice bump in sog totals- which I always think is a good offensive indicator- up to almost 3 sog/game. 24 goals- 52 points- decent numbers to build on? Also surpsied to see he had a pretty decent showing in worlds this year too- which I dont tend to follow. I know the offense is going to be let off its leash in Nashville next year but how much does that affect Smith? And where does he fit in that new reclamation loaded lineup?

To be honest- I totally flubbered my dates last year and auto-drafted- which isnt the end of the world in a 22 team keep 12 league where you dont have a first- lol! Long story short hes a guy i dont know much about at all- and was grumbling about getting to be honest- but now looks like a very intriguing young talent.

Thoughts?

[Jouko-Pouko]

Craig Smith should easily be in the Top-6 this season. I'm guessing the lines are:
Neal-Ribeiro-Smith
Wilson-Fisher-Stalberg/Jokinen/Roy/Forsberg

Not a lot of RWs in Nashville... So yeah, his spot should be safe. I'm thinking 55-60 points this season.

[Savvy1982]

Smith scored 24 goals last year.

He's not just Top Six, he's almost certainly top line, with PP1 time as well.

Giving him better linemates like Ribeiro and Neal will only help him.

I'd look for him to be in the 25-30 goal range, and maybe 55-60 points.

The way I look at it, the only other guys who could challenge him for minutes are:

Colin Wilson: Two way player - career high of 35 points. 2 more at 33 and 34. Not a top-line player
Filip Forsberg: Too young - Will need sheltered minutes to start.
Derek Roy: The tattered husk of.
Olli Jokinen: Needed as the 2C with Fisher hurt.
Viktor Stalberg: 18 points in 70 games last year. He's not gonna push Smith.

This should be Smith's "Magical Fourth Year" - barring injury the stars all seem to be aligning for him to break out this year.

[Luffy D Monkey]

Please, stop.

[Luffy D Monkey]

Please, stop.

[Savvy1982]

I wish I could, the site has been running like hot garbage lately.

[petegreg21]

I like another big step forward from Smith. I don't typically put much weight into the WC but he and Laviolette have a familiarity from the past two tournaments now.

[deantime419]

I'd pencil him in to the top line as well but I'm unsure what his leash will be. Let's not forget in the lockout season he stumbled pretty hard (12pts in 44 games).

Draft as a 50+pt guy but know there's some risk there too.

Also keep an eye on an extension for him (which would give him a longer leash).

[Russian Rocket 10]

In a 22-team keeper, I would definitely be looking to draft him.
I've also received a lot of good feedback from a previous thread of mine about Smith.
A lot of good indicators that he could, at the very least, repeat what he did last season.

[petegreg21]

I'd pencil him in to the top line as well but I'm unsure what his leash will be. Let's not forget in the lockout season he stumbled pretty hard (12pts in 44 games).

Draft as a 50+pt guy but know there's some risk there too.

Also keep an eye on an extension for him (which would give him a longer leash).

How much weight can we really put into the lockout season for this kid though? He had a pretty reasonable rookie year then his sophomore season coincided with the lockout. We even saw seasoned vets like Brad Richards, Loui Eriksson and Patrick Marleau struggle while guys like Semin, Ribiero and Staal (who haven't hit point per game numbers in full seasons for a while) flourished. I understand it's a point to consider, I just don't know how much pull that has, especially for a kid who was going into his second pro season.