The Boston Bruins hit the waiver wire for some needed forward depth Thursday.
The Bruins claimed center Gemel Smith, who the Dallas Stars placed on waivers earlier this week. Beat reporters spotted Smith saying goodbye to Dallas teammates at Stars practice on Thursday.
The 2012 fourth-round pick has been largely unproductive this season, scoring a pair of goals and adding an assist in 14 games for Dallas. The 24-year-old has seen little in the way of ice time recently, averaging just 6 minutes and 37 seconds per game over his last six games. His playing time cratered last week when he skated just 3 minutes and 25 seconds over eight shifts in the Stars’ game against the Vancouver Canucks.
Smith has posted 11-9-20 totals in 77 career games. He was a pretty productive player last season at the AHL level, where he chipped in with 12 goals and 21 assists in 53 games for the Texas Stars.
