Nashville Predators sign Cole Smith to two-year, $2 million extension

The 28-year-old has a career-high five goals and 13 assists in 46 games this season. Smith also ranks second on the Predators and tied for 12th in the NHL with 118 hits and leads Nashville forwards in shorthanded ice time per game at 2:19. Smith has two multi-goal games this season and recorded a five-game point streak.

In 2022-23 he recorded four goals and 13 assists for 17 points in 69 appearances during his first full NHL campaign; according to our friends at HockeyFights.com, he racked up six fighting majors.

The Brainerd, Minnesota product was undrafted and signed with the Predators in 2020 following a four-year NCAA career at the University of North Dakota, Smith posted 24 goals and 27 assists for 51 points in 137 games for the Fighting Hawks. During the 2019-20 campaign, while Smith was a senior, he helped lead the Fighting Hawks to an NCHC regular-season title while notching 11 goals and seven assists in 34 contests.

Smith spent much of his first couple of seasons with the Predators organization playing for the Milwaukee Admirals and Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL) and the Florida Everblades in the ECHL. Smith tallied 10 points in 23 games with Chicago as a rookie in the AHL.

Nashville currently sits fourth in the Central Division with a 25-21-1 record and 51 points through 47 games. The Predators are set to face off against the Minnesota Wild on Thursday and the red-hot Edmonton Oilers led by former Preds defenseman Mattias Ekholm on Saturday.