New Shark Smith looks forward to playing Hawks
Ben Smith's exit from the Blackhawks was nearly as memorable as the five-plus seasons he played for the organization.
It started with general manager Stan Bowman hustling into the Hawks' locker room about an hour before Monday's 2 p.m. trade deadline, presumably to inform Smith that he had been traded to the San Jose Sharks.
It ended with Smith playing for the Sharks that night at SAP Center in San Jose, adding a goal and assist in a win against the Montreal Canadiens.
In between were a fast goodbye with Hawks teammates, a rush home to throw things in a suitcase, a dash to the airport, a long cross-country flight and also a police motorcycle escort from San Francisco to the arena.
"It's been a crazy 48 hours," Smith said Wednesday on a teleconference, already having two games in the books with the Sharks. "I've enjoyed it so far. I'm looking forward to helping this team out here in San Jose."
Smith's offensive production lagged with the Hawks. He hadn't scored a goal and had just 1 assist in his previous 28 games and totaled 5 goals and 4 assists in 61 games.
Last season Smith had 14 goals and 12 assists in 75 games. There weren't as many opportunities to play higher in the lineup this season, but Smith didn't entirely buy that excuse.
"You could argue I didn't earn those opportunities this year with such a deep team," he said. "It's hard to say why things weren't going in and I wasn't getting opportunities like I had the year before, but I've just got to keep working at it, keep trying to find ways to get to the net (and) get shots through."
Assuming he's in the lineup March 14, Smith will get a chance to do that soon against the Hawks.
"I saw that's coming up," Smith said. "I'm looking forward to that game. We've got a few games before that, but that's one day you circle on the calendar when you see what's upcoming."
Speaking of his former teammates, Smith was asked to describe the Hawks' chemistry this season, after Internet rumors about a divided locker room were addressed by several players.
"I would say 100 percent unity," Smith said. "I think whatever was said, whatever rumors were said, I think only they made the team stronger. It's hard to comment on that, because I didn't experience anything of what was being said and rumored.
"It's unfortunate, but that team was together, unified and it speaks to why they've had so much success. It's because everyone's buddies. Everyone gets along."
Off-day updates:
Injured defenseman Johnny Oduya (upper body) skated Wednesday, while the rest of the team did off-ice training. Oduya had skated Monday for the first time since leaving a game against Boston on Feb. 22 after one shift. He will not play Friday against Edmonton.
New forward Andrew Desjardins met with Chicago reporters and reiterated his goal is to add grit to the lineup. Coach Joel Quenneville hasn't decided whether Desjardins will debut Friday, but said Corey Crawford will "very likely" start in net.
Rookie defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk will play this weekend for the Rockford IceHogs in his first action since having his left kneecap fractured by a shot in November. The IceHogs also made news Wednesday by trading for defenseman Keith Seabrook, the younger brother of Brent Seabrook.