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Steve Yzerman is at it again, claiming forward Gemel Smith from the Tampa Bay Lightning. Smith’s younger brother, Givani Smith, is also on the Red Wings so the brothers will get to play together for the first time in their careers.
DET claims Gemel Smith. Lagesson clears
— Elliotte Friedman (@FriedgeHNIC) January 19, 2022
Detroit has five players on IR at the moment — including former Bolt Mitchell Stephens — and five NHL-contracted forwards on their AHL roster, so Smith joining the team should provide some relief to both the NHL and AHL rosters.
Smith has a chance right now to find a role on the up-and-coming Red Wings that has some openings and if he’s waived again, the Lightning will be able to claim him and send him to the Syracuse Crunch or Taxi Squad. I personally hope he stays in Detroit because that’ll mean he finally caught the break he rightfully deserved.
Smith was on SOIR after getting injured in the preseason. The mechanics of SOIR are confusing, but Smith was on the cap for $32k, a percentage of his salary based on how long he was on the roster last season (4% of $750k). Basically, he didn’t really cost the team anything to be there, but with his cap hit gone, the cap situation is a lot simpler.
Excluding Brent Seabrook’s cap hit and with Smith off, the Lightning are operating under the $81.5M cap at $81.35M. The numbers on CapFriendly include Seabrook’s number, but without him this is really what it is on a 22-man roster.
Currently, the Bolts have several players injured — but not injured enough to go on LTIR for some relief — a reality that forced them to play with only 16 skaters last night (four defensemen). Because the Lightning dressed two players short in the last game, they have an emergency exemption to call up two players for free to play until they get the guys they need back.
Speaking of last night's game, Phillip Danault was fined $5k for his slewfoot on Brayden Point in last night’s game. You’ll remember Point went right after Danault after the slewfoot and the two had a fight in the second period. Danault got a two-minute minor for tripping on top of the fighting major on the play (Point got a roughing penalty on top of the fight to force things even).
Los Angeles’ Phillip Danault has been fined $5,000, the maximum allowable under the CBA, for a dangerous trip on Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point.
— NHL Player Safety (@NHLPlayerSafety) January 19, 2022