Hurricanes defenseman fate confirmed after being put on waivers to be sent to American Hockey League
Carolina Hurricanes defenseman Ty Smith has cleared waivers today, making his future with the organization a little bit more certain.
Yesterday, the Carolina Hurricanes placed former 1st round pick Ty Smith on waivers for the purpose of sending him to the AHL.
The move was not entirely unexpected as Smith has largely been an NHL-AHL tweener-type player so far in his career, but he has played well in his short stay with Carolina.
In eight games with the Hurricanes this season, he has a goal and 2 points and has a rating of +1.
He also has 14 shots on goal, 5 blocked shots, and 2 hits.
Today, it was revealed that the 24-year-old cleared waivers, and is thus eligible to be assigned to the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.
That is exactly what the Hurricanes did with him once the waiver claim period officially ended.
Smith has appeared in 131 career NHL games split between the Pittsburgh Penguins, New Jersey Devils, and Carolina Hurricanes.
He has 9 goals, 49 points, and a -31 rating overall to show for his efforts.
Perhaps the biggest thing working against Smith is his stature. At just 5'11", it is hard to become an everyday NHL defenseman.
He clearly has offensive skills but his lack of size and physicality hurts him in the eyes of most NHL general managers.
Still though, perhaps he can continue to carve out a role for himself as a 7th defenseman who can fill on the powerplay.
There is a good chance he will earn another call-up at some point this season, especially if the Hurricanes run into injuries on the blueline.
Be sure to stay tuned to see how the rest of Smith's season plays out and whether or not he will make a comeback to become an everyday player in the league.
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