Age but a number for veteran Flames goalie
Energetic Smith unfazed by critics, invigorated by team’s off-season moves
Based on his birthday alone, Mike Smith will undoubtedly face critics this season.
“But I’m only a year older than I was last year,” said the Calgary Flames goaltender with a wry smile on Thursday as the team kicked off its annual charity golf tournament.
Born March 22, 1982, makes Smith 36 years of age. Or 36 years young according to the Kingston, Ont., native.
Regardless, it’s a hot topic especially given his 55-game season in 2017-18, which saw him miss two significant stretches with a groin injury.
He checked into Wednesday’s voluntary fitness and medical testing and reported a clean bill of health, but is also feeling invigorated and energized by the Flames’ monster off-season.
“I haven’t aged five years in one year, so I think I still feel young,” Smith said. “I still feel like I have a lot to give. I still feel like I’ve played some of my best hockey in the last three or four years. Hopefully that continues and I can stay healthy and be as consistent as possible.
“Age is just a number as far as I’m concerned.”
Last season, behind a defence that included Travis Hamonic (who was adjusting to the systems in Calgary) and TJ Brodie (who struggled through much of the year), Smith put up a 25-226 record with a 2.65 goals against average and .916 save percentage. He was tied with Craig Anderson for 15th most starts in the NHL.
It wasn’t his best NHL season out of his 13 years in the show. It wasn’t his worst.
But, as a team, the Flames allowed 2.96 goals per game, which was 19th among NHL clubs, allowing 31.1 shots per game, which was 10th in the NHL.
Not bad, not great, but definitely not good enough.
So, coming into the 2018-19 campaign — a contract year for Smith who was acquired last summer from the Arizona Coyotes — there are certain achievements on the forefront of his mind.
Goaltending shouldn’t be a talking point, as far as he is concerned either.
“It was important for me to come in and have a really good start,” he said.
“It’s another important year — the last year of my contract. I feel like I want to keep this thing going and be a stabilizing force back there. The consistency is something you always battle with as a goalie. As someone who likes to play a lot, you want to be as consistent as possible. Everyone in the league likes to have that; that’s something you scratch and claw for throughout your whole career … Then, the winning part of it. You want to be in the playoffs, that’s a team goal we’ll talk about more. But being a part of this organization, you want to get this team back in the playoffs.
“I want to be a big part of that and that’s something I think about, too.”
His age, however, is not something he thinks about, no matter how many questions he’ll receive about it this season.
“People can say whatever they want,” Smith said. “I feel great. Age is just a number as far as I’m concerned, and as long as I keep feeling good and playing well and feeling like I can play at a high level, I’ll keep playing as long as I can.”
Flames general manager Brad Treliving has faced goaltending predicaments before (Karri Ramo, Jonas Hiller, Brian Elliott, Chad Johnson, Eddie Lack).
This, according to him, isn’t one of them.
“Mike, you can see, takes his craft very seriously,” Treliving said. “He feels great. He got healthy and he’s a specimen in terms of how he looks after himself and during the year. He’s excited. He feels that there is some unfinished business from last year. That part doesn’t worry me at all. Mike’s focus is in the right spot.”
When Smith went down at two separate times, both Jon Gillies and David Rittich were thrown into the deep end and expected to sink or swim.
At times, they were able to tread water. But, at times, they both barely kept their heads above surface.
In the end, Gillies logged 11 big league appearances. Rittich, 21.
Both experienced deep growing pains which, according to Treliving, will make them better goalies this year and better suited to a true backup role behind Smith.
“When Mike got hurt last year, the spotlight focused on David and Jon and that’s a difficult job for any goaltender, let alone guys that are coming into their first year in the NHL,” Treliving said. “I think they’re going to be much better for the experience. How do you get experience? Well, you’ve gotta go through it. We all want experience but sometimes we don’t like living with the little skiffs on the knee that experience gives us. They went through some experiences last year that they’re going to be much better for them this year. Talented guys. Driven guys. We’re going to have a battle there. We’ve got depth at the goaltending position and we’ll see how things play out throughout the course of camp.”
As for their No. 1?
Age isn’t part of the conversation.
“He’s an elite athlete,” Treliving continued, regarding Smith.
“He’s a top goaltender in this league. When he’s doing what Mike does, he’s as good as anybody. He’s got a special ability to play the puck. He’s a fiery competitive guy, I love that about his personality. He’s focused on one thing and that’s winning. His whole craft is dedicated to how do we win. Those are great things.”