Brendan Smith signs two-year deal with New Jersey Devils

The New Jersey Devils have signed defenseman Brendan Smith to a two-year contract carrying a $1.1 million cap hit, according to a report by Daily Faceoff‘s Frank Seravalli.

Smith, 33, scored four goals and eight points while averaging 13:55 in 45 games with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021–22. He added one goal and four points in 14 games during the 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Detroit Red Wings originally selected Smith in the first round (No. 27 overall) of the 2007 NHL Draft. He spent the first six seasons of his National Hockey League career in Detroit before being traded to the New York Rangers in 2017.

Smith occasionally played on the wing during his tenure with the Rangers. After parts of five seasons in New York, the 6’2″, 201-pound left-handed defenseman joined the Hurricanes as an unrestricted free agent in 2021.

In 571 career regular-season games with the Red Wings, Rangers, and Hurricanes, Smith has scored 33 goals and 118 points while averaging 16:30 per night. Smith has also appeared in 56 playoff games with Detroit, New York, and Carolina, scoring three goals and 14 points.

The Devils now have nine defensemen — including a pair of Smiths — who played games last season under contract for 2022–23: Dougie Hamilton, Damon Severson, Ryan Graves, Jonas Siegenthaler, Brendan Smith, Ty Smith, Kevin Bahl, Reilly Walsh, and Nikita Okhotiuk.

With that in mind, expect Brendan Smith to take to the ice next season wearing “B. Smith” on the back of his Devils sweater.