Tampa Bay Lightning‘s 2nd round pick in the 2003 draft (#41 overall) defenseman Matt Smaby(4) almost doesn’t seem like he’s been playing pro for as long as he has but 2012/2013 will be his 7th season.
He re-signed with Anaheim Ducks for another one-year, two-way deal. Last season he played the entire campaign with their AHL affiliate Syracuse Crunch after injuring his thumb in an NHL preseason game that sidelined him for a good three months.
The towering 6’6″ 239 lbs. d-man has skated in 122 NHL games (all with the Lightning) scoring no goals with 6 assists and a less than impressive plus/minus. But in 2010/2011, his first full season in the show, he went a +2 in 32 contests.
Even on the abbreviated by injury season last year, he had a pair of goals and 7 assists in 30 games and went a healthy +12.
Of all the super-ironies to happen to players though, if the 27-year old starts the new season in the AHL or gets reassigned, he will return to Norfolk, where he spent three years of his pro career.
