Confirmed with Link: Craig Smith 5 years, 4.25M AAV

[NSH615]

Sports are full of hyperbole. I don't think anyone in their right mind believes he's some kind of actual hero.

Apparently Byrd takes that to heart, therefore the need to clarify.

 

[Byrddog]

To clarify a hero is " Someone who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities" Usually attained by putting ones life on the line for others and often paying the full sacrifice. SOme firemen are heros some policemen are hero's and a number of military servicemen are hero's. I have not heard of one instance where Smith has saved a child from a burning building, Been shot in the line of duty taking down drug deals, or saving his battle buddy in combat. These are but a few examples of what a hero is. To label any athlete as a hero is a disgrace to true hero's. Absent Pat Tillman who was killed by friendly fire is the lone questionable pro sports figure since Vietnam that I know of that gave his life in service.

Honestly it is saddening that someone must be educated to what the meaning of this word is. Yet another example of the moral and mental corruption of this nation.

 

[wadesworld]

To clarify a hero is " Someone who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities" Usually attained by putting ones life on the line for others and often paying the full sacrifice. SOme firemen are heros some policemen are hero's and a number of military servicemen are hero's. I have not heard of one instance where Smith has saved a child from a burning building, Been shot in the line of duty taking down drug deals, or saving his battle buddy in combat. These are but a few examples of what a hero is. To label any athlete as a hero is a disgrace to true hero's. Absent Pat Tillman who was killed by friendly fire is the lone questionable pro sports figure since Vietnam that I know of that gave his life in service.

Honestly it is saddening that someone must be educated to what the meaning of this word is. Yet another example of the moral and mental corruption of this nation.

As one who has served, Byrd, I will say, a lot of people can be heroes. You don't have to have jumped on a grenade or carried a child out of a burning building to qualify. The word is indeed overused, but it is not reserved solely for certain occupations.

That said, once again you're letting your hatred for Craig Smith cloud reality. Nobody is calling him a hero with sincerity. It was tongue-in-cheek.

 

[triggrman]

Single moms, minsters, big brothers, foster parents and siblings, teachers, community leaders, atheletes that work with less fortunate kids, special needs kids, cancer patients, etc.

Who knows, Smith might be a hero to someone, it's not for any of us to judge.

Anyone to me that is positive influence on societies youth to me is a hero as well.

 

[Roman Yoshi]

Are we really debating the use of the term hero? I got some advice for everyone here

 

[triggrman]

You know what's not up for debate?










Smith's 20th goal on the season.

 

[Adz]

And it was glorious!

 

[TitansVolsPreds615]

To clarify a hero is " Someone who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities" Usually attained by putting ones life on the line for others and often paying the full sacrifice. SOme firemen are heros some policemen are hero's and a number of military servicemen are hero's. I have not heard of one instance where Smith has saved a child from a burning building, Been shot in the line of duty taking down drug deals, or saving his battle buddy in combat. These are but a few examples of what a hero is. To label any athlete as a hero is a disgrace to true hero's. Absent Pat Tillman who was killed by friendly fire is the lone questionable pro sports figure since Vietnam that I know of that gave his life in service.

Honestly it is saddening that someone must be educated to what the meaning of this word is. Yet another example of the moral and mental corruption of this nation.

I am an Army guy too, you are taking this way too seriously. It's like someone saying about a big game "It's going to be a war out there tonight". You know what they mean.

 

[Roman Yoshi]

Hey everyone, look at Byrd's avatar. Now you feel better.

 

[Dave is a killer]

Hey everyone, look at Byrd's avatar. Now you feel better.

I seriously thought he was going to win that bet, back in January.

 

[wadesworld]

Hey everyone, look at Byrd's avatar. Now you feel better.

Would have been better if it had been a picture of Smith with a big heart around it.

 

[triggrman]

I'm going to make that smith pick my new avatar.

 

[MrJoshua]

So now we all have to look at Byrd's new avatar through the playoffs? I feel like I lost a bet...

 

[Roman Yoshi]

So now we all have to look at Byrd's new avatar through the playoffs? I feel like I lost a bet...

Indeed. Byrd LOVES Miley compared to Smith. It made total sense.

 

[deanwormer]

Indeed. Byrd LOVES Miley compared to Smith. It made total sense.

That is a god-awful avatar; couldn't you at least have gotten her twerking or swinging on that stupid ball - this one gives me nightmares!

 

[Drake744]

Speaking of Miley Cyrus swinging on that stupid ball, it's always fun to re-live this moment in Belmont history

 

[jstreet]

Speaking of Miley Cyrus swinging on that stupid ball, it's always fun to re-live this moment in Belmont history

That is hilarious, I've never seen that before.

 

[Enoch]

We paid him to get 20 goals, and he did ... Again. He is remarkably consistent in that regards with the season taken as a whole. His chemistry with Ribiero and Forsberg bodes well for next season. Mission accomplished year 1.

 

[triggrman]

He has 68 goals in the last 3 seasons.

That ties him for 49th in the league with Kucherov and Getzlaf.

His 132 points however moves him down to 118th in the league in the last 3 seasons. Players in this point range include, Dubinsky, Boedker, Doan, Desharnais, Zibanejad, Filppula and Kadri. So let's look at their cap hits.

Filppula $5m (44 goals)
Doan $5.3m (64 goals)
Dubinsky $5.8M (44 goals)
Atkinson $3.5M (70 goals)
Desharnais $3.5M (41 goals)
Zibanejad still working off that initial contract, he's a FA this year so we'll see what he gets.
Kadri $4.1M (55 goals)

If you average it out, he's average or below with this group.

Smith is paid to score goals, he's doing just that....

 

[Byrddog]

All of those are are considerations for me. If you notice in the post I did address Neal and theres no double standard if he can't rebound he must be considered to be moved period. The difference is Neal has had over 20 goals every year in the league that's 7 years so he is going to get a little more lee way from me. Both Neal and Smith suffer from the quality of other players on there line in Nashville a issue Neal did not have before. Smith has one good year 2013 and one salvaged year last year where he squeeked out not being embarrassed in the last 20 games. Smith may or may not live up to his top 6 role. Neal has already done that year after year. The Smith contract term was a mistake IMO for that reason alone it is not a good idea to forego the last 2 year RFA contract on a player like Smith. It may be fine but it may be a disaster time will tell. For every one of these contracts that succeed one can find three that have failed be it a fall in production or injury. A few examples Jonathan Cheechoo, P.A. Parenteau, Jimmy Carson are three that come to mind easily there are many more who have one to three seasons and then are just flat out bad. Heck right now Mason Raymond whos numbers looks identical to what I expect Smith to do. Or close to home how about Martin Erat 4 20 goal seasons sprinkled thru his career. Its too early to say Smith will bomb but the chances are his potential has pretty much been met, forwards do not continue to get better after age 24 to 26 usually or defensemen from 26 to 28 most all plateau and start to regress. Smiths breakout was probably two years ago and if he tops that year this season that will probably be his career high. Then is the trip down. If he slides like Erat it will be ugly. Then again he could level off at 20 goals a year for three years then just disappear. If he broke out at 22 or 23 its a different situation but now chances are hes topped and by the end of the contract using many other average forwards he will struggle to hit 17 or 18 goals before the contract ends. He is not one the elite players that continue to perform into there 30's nor does he have a complete game like Fish or Leggy that will allow him more TOI. SO this season is IMO his last good year he will end up on 3rd line maybe as soon as next year and languish there until the contract is over or he is traded if that's possible with the 4.25.

Like I said before I would like for him to pot 30 and have 60 points that's what hes paid for under this contract and not to do so is a failure. The same holds true just the same for Neal who I do consider elite and if he fails he needs to be let go at some point.

I still stand by the point that Poile by next summer is at the top of the cap and decisions are much harder now. If I were guessing It will be Jones that will be the sacrificial lamb. Especially if Wilson is signed to a similar deal as Smith which I am nearly sure will happen. Not doing so and signing Jones will probably put the team in the less than 1 mil cap space for the next season with no flexability to sign someone if a major player like Sully had the back injury. Poile has signed himself into a box that will be impossible to escape from after next summer.

This is the post Pred33 asked me about Neals performance compaired to Smiths from 2014. If you look at it you will see that the evaluation is still pretty close. This is a response to the posts from the other thread that indicated I am so wrong so often. Well in this case Neal did rebound this season, I was worried about Wilson and the guy tanked, Also in this post I indicated that SMiths goal production would fall over the previous two season and it did. If you go to the first couple of pages where people were predicting the number of goals Smith would have I said 19 he exceeded by 2. And if it were not for the 5 game spurt where the guy had 4 he would not have hit the 19 even I had predicted for him. It is all seen as my negativity but it more about being realistic there were some that thought Smith would have 30 goals.

The truth of the matter is his production the last 3 years has been 24,23 and 21. Now I know some consider 4 mil a year a steal for a 20 goal guy and perhaps for a 20 goal guy that has potential for 25 to 30 it is. I also saw the word SOLID player used to describe him well gonna have to disagree yet again. He makes more poor plays than he does good plays. He has speed I give him that but Viktor Stalberg had speed too. If Craig Smith is worth 4 mil a year then this team is is a lot of trouble now because Poile has to sign Forsberg, Neal, and Johanson,. And there is no way in hell either of the 3 gets less than 6 mil per this will bust the cap for Poile. And im sure there will be those who do not think this will be an issue but I assure you if these three are signed at 6 you are going to have a line-up full of Salomaki's Arvidsson,s Watson's to have a full roster. Moving Jones only delayed the cap crunch a year or two unless you are ready for Neal or Johqanson to walk.

 

[AtlantaWhaler]

...... Poile has to sign Forsberg, Neal, and Johanson,. And there is no way in hell either of the 3 gets less than 6 mil per this will bust the cap for Poile. And im sure there will be those who do not think this will be an issue but I assure you if these three are signed at 6 you are going to have a line-up full of Salomaki's Arvidsson,s Watson's to have a full roster. Moving Jones only delayed the cap crunch a year or two unless you are ready for Neal or Johqanson to walk.

Neal would be the only UFA in that group, and he is signed for two more years. Currently, the team has $9.3 mil in cap space. Over the next two seasons, Over $9 mil will melt away from our roster (Goose, Nystrom, Jackman, Moses, misc). Neal is already making $5 mil. He'd get what, an extra million?

In all, you're worrying about nothing.

 

[NSH615]

This is the post Pred33 asked me about Neal's performance compared to Smiths from 2014. If you look at it you will see that the evaluation is still pretty close. This is a response to the posts from the other thread that indicated I am so wrong so often. Well in this case Neal did rebound this season, I was worried about Wilson and the guy tanked, Also in this post I indicated that SMiths goal production would fall over the previous two season and it did. If you go to the first couple of pages where people were predicting the number of goals Smith would have I said 19 he exceeded by 2. And if it were not for the 5 game spurt where the guy had 4 he would not have hit the 19 even I had predicted for him. It is all seen as my negativity but it more about being realistic there were some that thought Smith would have 30 goals.

The truth of the matter is his production the last 3 years has been 24,23 and 21. Now I know some consider 4 mil a year a steal for a 20 goal guy and perhaps for a 20 goal guy that has potential for 25 to 30 it is. I also saw the word SOLID player used to describe him well gonna have to disagree yet again. He makes more poor plays than he does good plays. He has speed I give him that but Viktor Stalberg had speed too. If Craig Smith is worth 4 mil a year then this team is is a lot of trouble now because Poile has to sign Forsberg, Neal, and Johanson,. And there is no way in hell either of the 3 gets less than 6 mil per this will bust the cap for Poile. And im sure there will be those who do not think this will be an issue but I assure you if these three are signed at 6 you are going to have a line-up full of Salomaki's Arvidsson,s Watson's to have a full roster. Moving Jones only delayed the cap crunch a year or two unless you are ready for Neal or Johqanson to walk.

Why must you take your anger continuously out on Smith rather than some of the real problems? Wilson is the real issue here. I know you mentioned him in a sentence, but 1 sentence does not = your 5 year hate on Smith when Smith is producing.

You fault Smith for having spurts of 4-8 games where he scores a handful of goals, but guess what, almost all 20 goal scorers have spurts like this and spurts where they go cold. That's why they are a 20 goal scorer instead of a 30 or 40 goal scorer. 20 goals amounts to a goal about every 4 games.

And Smith regressing all over 3 goals less than 2 years ago?
1) The entire team outside of Neal played like **** for the most of the first 30-40 or so games of the year. This did hurt Smith's numbers, but it hurt EVERYONE's numbers.

2) If in a 3 year span, someone scores within 3 goals of their high, like this case, I'd say that's rather consistent. If his totals continues to fall, there may be an issue. But with the issues in November & December, I would say he performed as everyone expected overall at the end.

Would I prefer if he scored 25+ goals each year? Yes, but I would like every player to do that and that isn't realistic. He still was in our top 4 for goal scorers and that makes him worth about what he gets paid.

Now let's talk about Wilson.

 

[Byrddog]

Why must you take your anger continuously out on Smith rather than some of the real problems? Wilson is the real issue here. I know you mentioned him in a sentence, but 1 sentence does not = your 5 year hate on Smith when Smith is producing.

You fault Smith for having spurts of 4-8 games where he scores a handful of goals, but guess what, almost all 20 goal scorers have spurts like this and spurts where they go cold. That's why they are a 20 goal scorer instead of a 30 or 40 goal scorer. 20 goals amounts to a goal about every 4 games.

And Smith regressing all over 3 goals less than 2 years ago?
1) The entire team outside of Neal played like **** for the most of the first 30-40 or so games of the year. This did hurt Smith's numbers, but it hurt EVERYONE's numbers.

2) If in a 3 year span, someone scores within 3 goals of their high, like this case, I'd say that's rather consistent. If his totals continues to fall, there may be an issue. But with the issues in November & December, I would say he performed as everyone expected overall at the end.

Would I prefer if he scored 25+ goals each year? Yes, but I would like every player to do that and that isn't realistic. He still was in our top 4 for goal scorers and that makes him worth about what he gets paid.

Now let's talk about Wilson.

Ok Wilson is making right at 4 mil over the next 3 years and is damn near untradeable. Whats to talk about Wilson. BTW this post has nothing to do with anything you have said other than you were the one who origianly asked me why I did not scald Neal like I do Smith. Well Neal rebounded. Smith regressed. 21 goals and 37 points is not getting it done. There are a handful of you guys that will stay on that sinking ship til you drown fine. But when facts and numbers are posted why go after the poster instead of asking yourself why Did Neal rebound and Wilson and Smith fail after a contract year. It is more convenient to say ole Byrddog the hater that predicted Smith would have 19 goals is sooooooooo wrong.

 

[Drake744]

Ok Wilson is making right at 4 mil over the next 3 years and is damn near untradeable. Whats to talk about Wilson. BTW this post has nothing to do with anything you have said other than you were the one who origianly asked me why I did not scald Neal like I do Smith. Well Neal rebounded. Smith regressed. 21 goals and 37 points is not getting it done. There are a handful of you guys that will stay on that sinking ship til you drown fine. But when facts and numbers are posted why go after the poster instead of asking yourself why Did Neal rebound and Wilson and Smith fail after a contract year. It is more convenient to say ole Byrddog the hater that predicted Smith would have 19 goals is sooooooooo wrong.

Well, for the record, Wilson is untradeable because he sucks and isn't doing squat while making 4 million a year. By the same logic, Smith would be tradeable for a lot of teams because he's producing at an acceptable level for what he's getting paid.

 

[Byrddog]

Neal would be the only UFA in that group, and he is signed for two more years. Currently, the team has $9.3 mil in cap space. Over the next two seasons, Over $9 mil will melt away from our roster (Goose, Nystrom, Jackman, Moses, misc). Neal is already making $5 mil. He'd get what, an extra million?

In all, you're worrying about nothing.

And you are sticking you head in the sand. Forsberg will get 6mil or more this summer and Johanson 6.5 to 7 the next or he will walk and Neal another 30 goal season next year will be looking at more than 7. And all you guys that spout losing goose nystroma dn the other well those warm bodies will have to be replaced with someone. And if there not upgrades then the team is at a standstill. Also Rinne and Weber are falling off Weber can be somewhat hid in his fall-off but Rinne sure can't and that 7 mil is tattooed for years. So just ignore what is obvious to even some of the talking heads. You ask who Well Darrin Dreger was on who pointed out exactly what I posted on NHL live the day before the trade deadline and said that was one reason Poile was not going to add another large contract.