Mar 28, 2015; Toronto, Ontario, CAN; Ottawa Senators center
Zack Smith(15) skates with the puck as Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman
Dion Phaneuf(3) closes in at Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Senators 4-3 in overtime. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports
On Tuesday, I started part one of three which ranked the 30 most important players in the Ottawa Senators organization. That list showed #21-30, and today part two has players from #11-20. A lot of the players in part one were prospects that won’t even be playing in the NHL this season, but they have the potential to be important pieces in the future. Todays list has mostly NHLers, but they are role players and not superstars.
However, some players still bring lots of value to the club and could perhaps move up the list in a year.
Here is #11-20, starting from the bottom:
20. Zack Smith
Smith fits into the same category as Chris Neil and Jared Cowen, as he played such a marginal role on the Senators last season. He had only 3 points in 37 games last year, and he looked like he didn’t belong in the NHL. While he was injured there were points where I legitimately forgot he was on the team.
Much like some other bad contracts on the team, he isn’t really needed on the team. That being said, I don’t dislike him that much on a fourth line centre role, because if he’s playing with anyone not named Colin Greening and Chris Neil, he might not be too bad. That’s a big if though, and overall he’s pretty far down the depth chart in terms of importance.
Next: Rugged Defender