When the Carolina Hurricanes signed Brendan Smith as a depth blueline piece, the expectations for the veteran were not very high.
Many saw him as a seventh or even eighth defenseman who could come in in case of injuries and nobody really predicted he’d get into as many games as he did.
And surprisingly enough, in those games, Smith was a solid piece and he probably played his best hockey as a Hurricane in the postseason against the Boston Bruins in Round 1.
A third-pair/seventh defenseman is never going to be anything to write home about, but Smith brought a steady, physical presence on the ice and an uplifting, veteran presence off of it.