Photo credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-Imagn Images
A former Detroit Red Wings defenseman has officially signed a contract with a divisional rival of the organization.
The Columbus Blue Jackets lost 4-3 in overtime against the Detroit Red Wings during the weekend, falling to the sixth spot in the Metropolitan Division.
Columbus Blue Jackets Sign Former Wings Defenseman Brendan Smith To One-Year Deal
The team confirmed the news in an official press release:
Smith, 36, is a left-handed defenseman from Ontario drafted 27th overall in 2007 by the Detroit Red Wings.
His professional hockey career started with the Grand Rapids Griffins in the 2010-11 season, where he played 152 games in three years.
He took part in his first NHL games during the 2011-12 season, where he scored seven points in 14 games with the Wings.
He remained in Detroit until being traded to the New York Rangers in the 2016-17 season.
Five years later, he left New York to join the Carolina Hurricanes before spending two years with the New Jersey Devils, and last season with the Dallas Stars.
In 726 regular-season games in the NHL, the six-foot-two, 200 lbs veteran tallied 39 goals and 105 assists, with 787 penalty minutes.
This season, he took part in 11 games for the Cleveland Monsters, where he scored an assist and tallied eight PIMs and a -5 rating.
Previously on Red Wings Insider