On the back half of his $34M, 6-year deal, many Coyotes fans expected another year of decline for the then-34-year-old goaltender, with visions of Louis Domingue taking over the crease dancing in their heads. But oh, what difference a year can make.
Playing behind a slew of new defensive personnel (Alex Goligoski, Luke Schenn, Jakob Chychrun, Anthony DeAngelo, and briefly Jamie McBain), we knew it was going to be an interesting year, and Mike Smith never fails to disappoint in that regard.