A tough year for Craig Smith has seemingly reached something of a breaking point.
The Bruins placed the veteran forward on waivers Sunday, according to Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman. That means any team in the league will now have an opportunity to claim him before 2 p.m. Monday afternoon.
If Smith is claimed, his new team will take on his $3.1 million cap hit. If he's not, the Bruins can either assign Smith to AHL Providence or just keep him on their NHL roster.
The 33-year-old Smith has one goal and three assists in 17 games this season while playing just 9:51 per game. He has been healthy scratched several times and has found himself in a fourth-line rotation with A.J. Greer. That has come on the heels of a disappointing finish to last season, when Smith had zero goals and four assists over the final 20 games, including zero points in seven playoff games.
Smith had been a consistently reliable middle-six forward throughout his career, including during his first year and a half in Boston, but for whatever reason things went downhill down the stretch last year and he hasn't been able to right the ship this season.
More consistent and reliable contributions from the likes of Pavel Zacha, Trent Frederic and Nick Foligno have seemingly made Smith expendable, especially given his cap hit.
The Bruins had just $33,693 in cap space as of Sunday, according to CapFriendly. Getting Smith off the books would at least open up a few options for the Bruins when it comes to adding to their roster, including potentially bringing back Anton Stralman or Mike Reilly on defense.
The Bruins would also almost certainly call up a forward from Providence if Smith is claimed to get back to 13 forwards. Jakub Lauko has already played seven NHL games this season, but there are other potential options in Providence as well.
Bigger picture, it would help the Bruins get into a position to potentially add to their team before the March trade deadline.
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