Former Devils Defenseman signs with Dallas Stars

Two years ago the New Jersey Devils made defenseman Brendan Smith their first free agent signing of the summer. Today the Dallas Stars do something similar, signing Smith to a one-year, $1 million contract.

Smith played 123 games across two seasons for the Devils, where he recorded five goals and 15 assists.

New Jersey Hockey Now confirmed with the now-former Devils defenseman that New Jersey and Smith had no dialogue on a contract extension and he was heading to free agency.

A source explained that Smith heading to free agency was his choice, not the Devils’.

With the addition of Brenden Dillon on the left side and the acquisition of defenseman Jonathan Kovacevic for depth, there wasn’t much room for Smith in the Devils lineup. During his time with the Devils, Smith wasn’t a stranger to the occasional gaffe, but was a reliable penalty killer and a well-respected voice in the room.

At the end of the 2023-24 season, Smith expressed his interest in still playing, whether it had been with the Devils or elsewhere.

“They probably have their pecking order and hopefully there’ll be some talk and we’ll see where I stand,” Smith responded when asked about pending free agent status on clean-out day. “I love it here, I do want to be back. But more than that, I want to be back in the NHL. So we’ll see how that goes.”

Smith joins an experienced Dallas group that just missed out on making the Stanley Cup Finals. He brings nearly 700 regular season games of experience to go along with 59 career playoff games.

As a physical, penalty-killing, defensive defenseman, Smith will provide Dallas with quality depth to their lineup at a low cost.

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