Ladislav Smid probably wasn't supposed to play this past year. His 2014-15 season effectively ended when he suffered a headshot from Simon Despres on Dec. 12, 2014. He played three games about a month later, but that was that, and he spent the rest of the season on LTIR.
Considering how unpredictable and dangerous neck injuries - what Smid had suffered then, as well as in the past - can be, and how long he was out for, it was assumed Smid would spend the 2015-16 season on LTIR.
He didn't. Smid recovered enough to participate in training camp, and within the first month of the season, he was back on the ice.