I'm not entirely sure of what happened to Smith earlier this year, but it did look awfully suspicious for adjustment to the new equipment sizes. He was still making the reaching 'reaction' saves, but the more positional saves were going through him like a sieve, particularly under the arms. I am also suspicious that he was probably more affected than most by the sizing changes, as he might have been pushing the limits before to make the gear 'proportional' to his size because he is such a big goalie to begin with.
I imagine that it's awfully difficult to teach an NHL vet to play his position differently. However, his improved play is quite promising to me, as he isn't letting in so many flat-out stinkers that he was last fall. I don't mind if he gets beat on a deke or a top shelf shot, but he's making more of the saves that he should. That's supported by his improved low-danger Sv%.
I was very uncomfortable with him earlier this year, however I do think it's worth giving him another shot now. Not because I think he magically has turned back time, but because I think something fundamental has changed; he has learned how to play with his new gear. I'm not expecting him to be as good as the start of last year - how could he? His gear got smaller. But I think he's a legitimate option and I think the players probably have some faith in him too. The players and coaches are the ones watch the goalies save hundreds of pucks every practice, so they clearly know which goalie is feeling it much more than fans. I'm willing to trust it.
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