Blue Jackets sign Brendan Smith to professional tryout

On Tuesday, Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell announced that the team has signed defenseman Brendan Smith to a professional tryout contract.

Smith is currently an unrestricted free agent after being left unsigned through the summer. The Mimico, Ont. native spent the 2024-25 season with the Dallas Stars on a one-year contract with a cap hit of $1 million.

Thanks to being a healthy scratch for long stretches during the regular season, Smith played in just 32 games, the fewest appearances he’s had since becoming a full-time NHLer prior to the 2013-14 season. He scored a goal and five assists for six points, while registering a plus/minus rating of -9 and averaging 13:13 of ice time per game. Smith didn’t appear in any games during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, as the Stars advanced all the way to the Western Conference Final before losing to the Edmonton Oilers once again.

Yet, Waddell likes what the veteran could bring to the team, hence the invite to the team’s training camp next month.

“Brendan Smith is an experienced, physical blueliner that competes hard and is sound in the defensive zone,” Waddell said in a release. “He is a veteran presence with great character and professionalism, and we are excited to have the opportunity to bring him to camp.”

Smith has bounced around the league over the past few years. After spending over five seasons with the Detroit Red Wings, the team that took him in the first round of the 2007 NHL Draft, he was traded to the New York Rangers in February 2017. Smith would play four full seasons with the Blueshirts before signing with the Carolina Hurricanes in July 2021. After one season in Raleigh, he played the following two years with the New Jersey Devils before signing with Dallas.

In 726 NHL regular-season contests, Smith has scored 39 goals and 105 assists for 144 points, with 15 points in 59 postseason games.