Well Senators fans, when it comes to your mock expansion draft scenarios, you can now pencil forward Zack Smith in as one of the team’s protected forwards.
Today the Ottawa Senators announced this afternoon that they have inked Smith to a four-year contract extension worth $13-million that carries an average annual value of $3.25-million.
The 28-year old forward, who turns 29 in April, was slated to become an unrestricted free agent this July.
His new contract is the culmination of an impressive turnaround.
Through his first seven seasons in the league, Smith mixed flashes of offensive potential — 14 goals in 2011-12 and 13 goals in 2013-14 — with ineffectual play on the team’s third and fourth lines.