[GullFoss]

Great article by Eric Duha! Tidbits below...

Originally Posted by The Athletic

Stats don't tell the whole story
We did a lot of work on Smitty,” said Treliving, in a one-on-one interview. “In our data, there are certain things we studied...When you look at his stats, they don’t tell the whole picture of what he faced, really, in the last two years."

Reduced wear at tear on defensemen
"Mike Stone, when he came to us last year, the only goalie he’s ever played with was Mike Smith. Five or six games in, we went for a coffee and I asked him, ‘How are things going?’ And he said, ‘To be honest, I found myself caught off guard a bit because you’re used to going to the wall and Smitty gets it and fires it to you. Now, I’m getting hit more – and you forget, you have to go back for pucks more.'" - Brad Tre

“So if you think about Mark Giordano as he gets older. He plays a lot. But what if you take two or three hits per game away from him, that’s 160 fewer hits per season he has to take. That’s a lot of wear-and-tear that Smitty can prevent." - Brad Tre

Better 3-on-3 overtime

For his part, Giordano can see another benefit to having Smith on the ice – in how much more aggressive they can be playing three-on-three overtime.