Syracuse, NY - The Syracuse Crunch announced today that they have signed defenseman Dan Smith to an American Hockey League contract. As per club policy, terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Smith, 31, appeared in 77 games for the Crunch last season, recording 1 goal, 6 assists and 73 penalty minutes. In his career, Smith has appeared in 653 combined AHL games with Hershey, Springfield, Toronto (Roadrunners), Edmonton (Roadrunners), Hamilton, Grand Rapids and Syracuse, accumulating 27 goals, 102 assists and 630 penalty minutes. He has also appeared in 22 combined NHL games with Colorado and Edmonton, tallying 16 penalty minutes.
The Fernie, British Columbia native was Colorado's seventh pick, 181st overall, in the 1995 Entry Draft and spent four seasons in the Avalanche organization. He had nine penalty minutes and was a +7 in 15 games with the club between 1998-00, including appearing in an NHL career-high 12 games during the 1998-99 campaign.
Smith also helped the Hershey Bears, Colorado's former AHL affiliate, capture the 1997 Calder Cup championship when he joined the club late in the season after wrapping up his major junior career with the Western Hockey League's Tri-City Americans. He joined the Blue Jackets organization last season when he was signed as a free agent on July 11, 2007.
