Having deep depth can help an NHL team be able to win games. Even though the Ottawa Senators are currently 16-13-2 after their 3-0 shutout win last night against the Seattle Kraken, the Senators have relied heavily on their top offensive players for production this season.
Tim Stutzle is having a career year this season with having 37 points, with 26 of his points being assists. Brady Tkachuk leads the Senators with 15 goals and Drake Batherson is also having a career year with 32 points.
However, outside of Stutzle, Tkachuk and Batherson, Josh Norris and Claude Giroux are the only other 20-point scorers on the Senators. Production from other forwards hasn't quite been there for the Senators this season. However, there's one veteran who's underappreciated on the Chicago Blackhawks, who could be a sneaky trade target for the Senators.
Blackhawks' Craig Smith would be a sneaky trade target for Senators
This season, the Blackhawks are struggling with a current 11-19-2 record. The Blackhawks have five players on their roster who will be unrestricted free agents after this season, who could become trade targets for other teams. One of those unrestricted fee agents who could be a sneaky trade target for the Senators, who is underappreciated, is Craig Smith.
According to PuckPedia, Smith is on an expiring contract at $1 million. For a 35-year-old veteran on a low salary, Smith has been underappreciated this season in Chicago.
Smith has 10 points in 26 games played this season for the Blackhawks. While that may not sound like a lot of points for some, Smith has produced well for a player who is playing on a bad team.
Smith has more points than 13 players on the Senators who have played at least one game this season. Despite the $1 million salary, Smith has more points this season than some of Ottawa's highest paid forwards:
David Perron ($4 million)
Shane Pinto ($3.75 million)
Michael Amadio ($2.6 million)
Smith also has scored six goals this season for Chicago. When taking his six goals scored this season, only six Senators players have scored more goals than Smith has in Chicago.
Smith would be a solid bottom-six forward that can play on the penalty kill and bring physicality to the Senators. To go with penalty killing and bringing the body, Smith also has playoff experience as a member of the Nashville Predators, Boston Bruins and Dallas Stars. According to StatMuse, Smith has recorded 23 playoff points in 83 career playoff games.
Smith was a member of the Predators' 2017 Western Conference championship team, and was a good role player playing on the fourth line in the Stars' run to the Western Conference Finals last season.
For a team like the Senators scratching to earn respect and make the playoffs for the first time since 2017, Smith would be a quality player to add in a trade with his cheap contract and playoff experience.