The annual NHL Roster Freeze officially went into effect at 11:59 pm EST on Monday, and with it, the Bruins made an interesting transaction at the last minute.
For those unfamiliar with the NHL Roster Freeze, it essentially prevents any players on active rosters (or IR) from being traded, waived, or loaned to the minor leagues during the holidays.
The freeze will officially be lifted at 12:01 am EST on December 28th.
While Craig Smith cleared waivers on Monday, he wasn’t initially sent to Providence as he suited up during the Bruins’ 7-3 win over the Florida Panthers. After the game, though, that general manager Don Sweeney made his move to beat the freeze.
Don Sweeney assigned forward Craig Smith to the Providence Bruins of the AHL. Scott McLaughlin of WEEI shared the news:
”Craig Smith was indeed assigned to Providence before the midnight holiday roster freeze. We’ll see if he actually reports or if it’s just a paper move. Bruins can accrue more cap space over the next week with him off the NHL roster.”
This is clearly a money move by the Bruins as they look to gain cap space over the holidays and set themselves up for an upcoming deadline trade. Fans shouldn’t be surprised to see the veteran back in the NHL sooner rather than later, as this is a move that needed to be made on paper.
On the season, the 33-year-old Smith has skated in 18 games and has only registered one goal and three assists. While he may not be producing, he is still a key veteran member of this team, but we will see how far that gets him in his final year in Boston.
