Haynes: Smid's future uncertain

[Gaudfather]

Tough call for Smid - likely feels he is "too young" to retire, but then again you don't want to create a more serious long term health issue - the neck is a critical area.

[dammage79]

Gary Roberts came back from neck injuries. What Smid needs to do is "retire" like Roberts did and come back when he is fully recovered. It's obvious a year here and six months there isn't doing the trick.

[MarkGio]

Didn't Langkow also recover from a neck injury?

[thymebalm]

Everyone is acting oh so noble pretending to care about his health, family, and fortunes, but they don't.

The truth is people think his cap hit is too high for what he brings to the team and they don't want him to take up the cap when we've got 9 other defenders ahead of him on the depth chart, many of which at a fraction of his price.

People recover from major injuries all the time. I've been in the process of a three year recovery and never once has a medical, legal, or other professional suggested that I just throw in the towel and give up.

If you have the passion that it takes to make the show, you know a thing or two about battling through adversity.

My hope is that he gets healthy, and competes for a roster spot like everyone else we have on contract. If he doesn't make the line up, then my hope is the GM takes the appropriate action to find Smid a new home and maximize whatever cap space he can in the process.

Obviously were he to retire he'd save the Flames some cap space.

The reality is, if he doesn't recover from his injury, by not retiring he gets his due and access to some of the best doctors around and it doesn't affect the Flames but for one contract spot of 50. No cap penalty.

And if he does recover and is cleared to play, it just means a little work for Brad if he doesn't make the team. short term cap penalty and just a part of the game.

Patience friends. And a speedy recovery to Smiddy.

[killer_carlson]

Originally Posted by Vinny01

Sucks for Smid. He hasn't been a great Flame but I understand why Oiler fans loved him so much the guy is a warrior. I wish him all the best but so hope his time as a player for the organization are done. Removing Smid and Wideman from this team would clear a lot of wasted cap space at the bottom of our blueline and free up a spot for one of Wotherspoon/Kulak/Culkin/Anderssen/Kylington to make the team full time next year.

We've seen 2 completely different versions of Smid - 1 healthy, 1 hurt.

The Healthy Smid is a miserable SOB who is a great addition to our blueline. He contributes and makes opponents accountable when getting into traffic areas.

The Hurt Smid is a guy playing through pain and making a noble effort. The physical limitations manifest in his play which is understandible yet unfortunate.

If we can get the Healthy Smid back, awesome, sign me up.
If we can't, then i hope he takes his time to get a full recovery for the future of his NHL career and post-NHL life.

[Poe969]

Originally Posted by thymebalm

Everyone is acting oh so noble pretending to care about his health, family, and fortunes, but they don't.

The truth is people think his cap hit is too high for what he brings to the team and they don't want him to take up the cap when we've got 9 other defenders ahead of him on the depth chart, many of which at a fraction of his price.

People recover from major injuries all the time. I've been in the process of a three year recovery and never once has a medical, legal, or other professional suggested that I just throw in the towel and give up.

If you have the passion that it takes to make the show, you know a thing or two about battling through adversity.

My hope is that he gets healthy, and competes for a roster spot like everyone else we have on contract. If he doesn't make the line up, then my hope is the GM takes the appropriate action to find Smid a new home and maximize whatever cap space he can in the process.

Obviously were he to retire he'd save the Flames some cap space.

The reality is, if he doesn't recover from his injury, by not retiring he gets his due and access to some of the best doctors around and it doesn't affect the Flames but for one contract spot of 50. No cap penalty.

And if he does recover and is cleared to play, it just means a little work for Brad if he doesn't make the team. short term cap penalty and just a part of the game.

Patience friends. And a speedy recovery to Smiddy.

well unless you're a professional athlete, it really doesn't matter. I know lots of people who've suffered major injuries and are on the road to recovery and still work because they have to. If your job is putting you at risk to make the existing injury even worse then your doctors and/or legal team should be telling you to quit. This is about Smid, he plays hockey where grown men (who are pretty big) hit each other and collide at fast speeds, if he's still suffering from a neck injury and is hit the wrong way or even just falls the wrong way it could drastically change his life. I'm one of the people who hopes he quits for a few reasons and I'm not ashamed to say that I just don't want him on the team but at the same time, he's a person and I don't want him or any other NHL player to be paralyzed (especially during a game where thousands of people are watching)). If there are other players on any of the other 29 teams in the same situation, I hope they would retire too even if it helps their team out. I don't like seeing people who are already injured "push themselves" to continue to play when there's such a high risk of being seriously injured.

I would LOVE for Smid to just retire because it would help the team but even if the still goes on LTIR and it doesn't help the team as much, I'll be a lot happier then watching someone who's still not at 100% risk getting a serious injury. I think the people saying that are pretty genuine that they just don't like seeing someone who's already made millions of dollars risk their life during a game.

[saillias]

Originally Posted by thymebalm

Everyone is acting oh so noble pretending to care about his health, family, and fortunes, but they don't.

The truth is people think his cap hit is too high for what he brings to the team and they don't want him to take up the cap when we've got 9 other defenders ahead of him on the depth chart, many of which at a fraction of his price.

You're not wrong. I don't know Smid on a personal level and my main concern is the Flames. I would prefer his time here is over because he's no longer a serviceable NHL player, health problems notwithstanding