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Smith Ready To Become Bolts' Top Goaltender

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By JOE HENDERSON | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 24, 2008

TAMPA - Of all the moves (and moves, and moves) made last summer on Channelside Drive by the Lightning, one of the boldest kind of got overlooked. Well, there was a lot going on out there and it was tough to keep up. There were new owners, new coaches, and new players.

Lots and lots and lots of new players.

But in the middle of July, the Bolts slipped in a two-year contract extension for goalie Mike Smith that might have gotten a lot more attention had it been any year except this one. That's a $4.4 million gamble on a goalie who has never been a regular starter until the Lightning acquired him late last season from Dallas in the trade for Brad Richards.

There's some logic to the move, risky as it may be. Smith was entering the last year of his contract and the Bolts didn't want to take a chance of losing him if he plays like they believe he will.

"That's the new NHL. He comes in here, plays 75 games and becomes the best goalie in the NHL and we lose him," Bolts coach  Barry Melrose said.

"You have to have faith in your people; you have to believe in Mike Smith. We thought he was a great guy and would become the goalie we envisioned, so we took a chance. It also showed a lot of confidence on our part in Mike Smith and I think we'll be rewarded."

Of course, the previous ownership regime thought it would be rewarded with Marc Denis, or Johan Holmqvist, or all the other stabs taken to replace Nikolai Khabibulin since that glorious night when Lord Stanley's Cup was paraded all around the Forum. None of them worked. Some, like Denis, were unqualified disasters.

That means nothing to Smith, of course — nor should it.

"If you don't stop the puck, people seem to hate you and you don't last very long. If you do, people love you," he said.

He stopped 38 of them Tuesday night, playing all the way in a 3-2 exhibition victory against the Rangers at the Forum. It was his first action of the preseason.

His Job To Lose

He got into 13 games for the Bolts at the end of last season after the big trade and the results were mixed. He had a 3-10 record, a shutout, and a 2.79 goals-against average, but those numbers are basically meaningless because of all the changes that have taken place since then.

It's better to focus on what might be instead of what happened in the past.

Some see a risk. Others see a 26-year-old goalie coming into his prime, with the right mix of athleticism and cockiness.

"He's really aggressive in the net and really aware," right winger Marty St. Louis said. "He plays the puck tremendously and that's a big plus. He came in last year in a tough situation, but I think a fresh start will help. I'm excited to see him perform as we all know he can," St. Louis said.

"The way he plays is a direct reflection of his personality. He has a very athletic style and the kind of confidence out there you need to be a good goalie. You can tell he has confidence in his ability. He doesn't second-guess himself and you need that quality to be a successful goalie."

You also need a chance. For the first time in his career he comes to camp atop the depth chart.

"That makes it easier to go out there and just play my game," he said. "It's been a grind in the past to even try to make the team. It's nice to know you're here, but obviously you still have to perform."

Nature Of The Beast

There will be fair skepticism about Smith from the paying customers, but that's expected. They wouldn't be normal if they weren't at least a little dubious, not after the conga line of mistakes that have patrolled the pipes the last few years.

Smith knows all that, of course, but just kind of brushes it off.

Pressure? Not for him.

"It's the nature of the beast," he said. "I grew up playing this position and this is what I've wanted to do since I was a young kid. I'm going to try and take advantage of the opportunity.

"I'm not thinking about that kind of stuff. If you set yourself up for failure, you're going to fail. I'm just going out there and do my best and hopefully that's good enough. Like Barry said, I don't want to finish seventh or eighth and just make the playoffs. I want to contend for the Cup."

That sounds good, but we know the kind of goaltending it takes to get that far. We'll know soon enough if it's plausible.

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