The 2020-21 NHL season still is young, but Craig Smith already has made an impression.
ESPN's Emily Kaplan named the Boston Bruins right wing the team's best newcomer of the season to date Wednesday. Smith has scored goals in two consecutive games, including the overtime winner he notched Tuesday night in Boston's 3-2 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins. Smith was seen as Boston's top offseason free-agent signing, and the impact he has made in the five games in which he has featured prompted Kaplan to give him the best-newcomer nod.
"The minute Craig Smith signed with the Bruins, it felt like a perfect fit," Kaplan wrote. "And sure enough, the longtime Predators winger has developed chemistry with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic on Boston's third line."
Smith arrived in Boston as a presumed boost to the Bruins' third line, and he largely has delivered on that billing. If he maintains his good form, the team undoubtedly will benefit, and he should have little problem cementing himself as Boston's best newcomer, a category which also includes rookies and trade acquisitions, for the duration of the season.
