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I was admittedly not a fan of the Mike Smith trade when it happened.
I thought the Calgary Flames would have been better served holding onto their assets -- in this case, a 3rd round pick and Brandon Hickey -- and targeting a more cost efficient option, or someone with no cost at all (like Steve Mason).
It's not that I think Smith is bad or that losing a 3rd round pick and Hickey will destroy the team's future. It was just a combination of opportunity cost and the fact the Flames are already short on picks moving forward. Removing pieces from the farm system isn't ideal for a team when they're not really going to be adding much to it in the future (they have just two top-93 picks over the next two years)
Nevertheless, I have come around a little bit on the trade. I'm not a big fan of the move, but I don't dislike it as much as I did.
Despite mediocre overall numbers, Smith has fared well in a couple key categories that give reason to be optimistic about how he'll perform in Calgary.
For starters, his high-danger save percentage over the last five years (85.1%) is solid and noticeably higher than the guy he'll be replacing (Brian Elliott posted an 82.1 HD SV% over that same span).
High-danger save percentage is a pretty good indicator of true talent -- it's harder to stop Jamie Benn from the slot than the point, for example -- so if you post solid numbers in that regard it's probably not a fluke.
Smith's 5v5 save percentage over the last couple years has been really good, too.
From 2015-17, Smith stopped .929% of the shots he faced, which ranks him 8th among 37 eligible goaltenders (3,000+ 5v5 minutes) during that time.
For perspective, Smith is just a hair below Sergei Bobrovsky for 7th and slots ahead of Jonathan Quick, Frederik Andersen, Henrik Lundqvist, Ben Bishop and Pekka Rinne, among others.
I'm not saying I'd take Smith over all of those guys -- I don't think anyone would -- but, obviously, he did something right if he was out-performing them in a state where the majority of every game is played.
Smith was not my ideal target but there's reason to believe he'll be more than adequate in Calgary, especially playing behind such a strong defense.
Recent posts:
On Ferland, raising the ceiling, and the potential to add more
On Lazar's two-year extension
On Ferland's two-year extension
On Valimaki and his lofty goal of making the Flames out of camp
The Flames shouldn't bring back Iginla
Jagr could be a fit for the Flames
Breaking down the Travis Hamonic trade
Flames select Juuso Valimaki 16th overall
Calgary Flames Blogger • 
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