Skip navigation
Favorites
Sign up to follow your favorites on all your devices.
Sign up

Report: Coyotes lock up Mike Smith for six years

mikesmithgetty

The Phoenix Coyotes’ future in Glendale is in doubt, but they still managed to keep the foundation of their franchise in place, even if it’s proving costly. Saturday’s rumor was confirmed on Sunday as the team handed goalie Mike Smith a six-year contract, according to Fox Sports Arizona’s Craig Morgan.

The exact financial terms aren’t clear just yet - this post will be updated with those details - but earlier rumors pegged the annual cap hit at somewhere between $5.5 million and $5.7 million.

Update: It appears that the cap hit is $5.67 million, placing the six-year total to $34.02 million, according to Sarah McLellan of the Arizona Republic. McLellan also notes that the deal isn’t 100 percent official yet.

Morgan points out the misgivings about the franchise’s future in the Smith camp, but $33 million or more can make Glendale, Seattle, Quebec or any number of locations seem like paradise.

For many, the risks of this deal outweigh the potential rewards.

Smith is a little up there in age at 31. His career has been full of ups and downs (including two seasons with less than a 90 save percentage) and his fragility has limited him considerably. (The 67 regular season games he played in 2011-12 towers over every other year of his career; his second-best mark is 42.)

That being said, Smith did impress in 2011-12. His numbers were nearly identical to those of Jonathan Quick’s breakout campaign and his postseason success wasn’t that far off, either, as he was the driving force for a franchise-first run to the Western Conference finals.

Apparently that provided enough evidence for a franchise with an unstable future to make Smith their goalie of the future.

Related

Coyotes keep head coach Dave Tippett

GM Don Maloney stays in the fold