“If we will be quiet and ready enough, we shall find
compensation in every disappointment.”
-- Henry David Thoreau
As long as hockey is played in Washington, Devante
Smith-Pelly’s game-tying goal in the third period of Game 5 of last season’s
Stanley Cup final will be among the most celebrated plays in team history. It was a spring full of clutch goals for
DSP. Of the seven he had in the
postseason – a career best – two were game-winners, two others tied games
(including the goal in the Cup-clinching Game 5 against Vegas in the final),
and one other gave the Caps a lead (the only goal he scored in a loss, in
overtime to Columbus in Game 1 of the opening round series).
In addition to earning him the everlasting gratitude of Caps
fans, it earned him a one-year/$1 million contract with the club last June, a
raise of $350,000 over his expiring contract.
One might have thought that Smith-Pelly was going to be one of the
mainstays among the bottom six forwards, lightening the burden of losing fellow
forward Jay Beagle to Vancouver in free agency.
But in our prognosto last September, we were left with the “Big Question”… Can Devante Smith-Pelly use the 2018 postseason as a springboard
into 2018-2019?
Two weeks after posting that prognosto and raising that question, there were ominous signs.
There were reported to be conditioning issues that put the player behind the
curve in getting ready for the new season.
It would be a hole out of which Smith-Pelly found difficult to climb.
Smith-Pelly’s ten-game segments reflect those
difficulties. He managed more than two
points in only one of the six segments in which he played and had none in the
last two of those segments. Although he
did dress for the Caps’ first 37 games of the season, he was just 4-4-8,
minus-1. He dressed for 20 of the next
26 games, did not record a point, and posted a minus-5 rating. On February 20th he became an odd
casualty of the trading deadline, the Caps choosing to place him on waivers to
free up a roster spot and cap room in anticipation of further moves. Smith-Pelly cleared waivers and was assigned
to Hershey where he remained for the rest of the regular season, going 6-8-14,
plus-2, in 20 games with the Bears.
Fearless’ Take… When he skated
more, the team remained successful.
True, that might reflect the team being able to roll four lines more
often, but in the 18 games in which Smith-Pelly skated at least 11:30, the Caps
were 14-3-1.
Cheerless’ Take… It was a season
that started bad and pretty much stayed there.
Numbers-wise, it was might have been his worst NHL season, slightly
worse than the season he spent in New Jersey that ended with the second year of
his contract being bought out three days before he was signed by Washington
(4-5-9, minus-19, in 53 games).
Odd Smith-Pelly Fact… Smith-Pelly
managed only one point in 25 road games, a goal in a 3-2 overtime win in
Colorado over the Avalanche on November 16th. He was one of only four players among 536
playing in at least 25 road games an only one of two forwards among 365 to play
in at least 25 road games to record only one point (no player in that group was
shut out).
Game to Remember… November 5th vs. Edmonton
Devante Smith-Pelly, like many other Capitals, celebrated
the Opening Night banner raising contest against the Boston Bruins by
entering a crooked number on the score sheet, in his case recording an
assist in a 7-0 win. However, over his next 11 games he
recorded only one more point, a goal in 6-5 Gimmick loss to the Florida
Panthers on October 19th. Smith-Pelly
wasn’t alone in dealing with a slump.
Over those first 12 games of the season the Caps were just 5-4-3, and they took a
two-game losing streak into Game 13 against the Edmonton Oilers.
Washington opened the scoring early on a play started by
Travis Boyd. Skating into the Oiler zone,
Boyd cut around Ryan Strome and put a shot on net that was turned aside by
goalie Cam Talbot. Smith-Pelly collected
the loose puck at the goal line to the right of Talbot, circled, and threaded a
pass through three Oilers to Jakub Vrana cutting down the middle. Vrana one-timed the puck past Talbot to give
the Caps a 1-0 lead 2:44 into the game.
Three minutes later, Smith-Pelly and Boyd worked together again. Smith-Pelly started the scoring play by
sweeping the puck off the stick of Strome along the right wing boards. Boyd picked it up and circled into the
slot. He faked a shot and dropped the
puck for Smith-Pelly trailing the play.
Smith-Pelly snapped a shot high over Talbot’s glove and under the
crossbar to make it 2-0, 5:44 into the first period.
Although Edmonton did climb back to make it a one-goal game
twice, the Caps scored a power play goal to make it a 4-2 game late in the
second period and made that lead stand up for the final score. For Smith-Pelly, the two-point game was his
first and only one of the season, and it was his first and only two-point game
as a Capital, regular or postseason.
Game to Forget… November
1st at Montreal
It can be an occasion for a player to return to a place he
called home, if only briefly, while skating for another team. Such was the case for Smith-Pelly when the
Caps visited Bell Centre in Montreal in mid-November. Smith-Pelly skated for the Canadiens for 66
games over two seasons in 2014-2015 and 2015-2016, posting seven goals and 15
points. And, Smith Pelly had a decent,
if thin record over his career against Montreal, going 1-3-4, plus-2, in seven
games.
The clubs battled back and forth, exchanging first period
goals, and then throwing haymakers in the second period, Montreal scoring the first
two goals of the period and the Caps replying with three to take a 4-3 lead
into the third period. The Caps looked
as if they might escape with the win as the clock ticked down to three minutes
remaining. However, Smith_Pelly was one
of several Caps who could not tie up Jesperi Kotkaniemi enough in front of the Caps’
net to prevent him from converting a centering pass into the tying goal with
3:03 left. Montreal scored again in the
last minute to take the lead, and then added an empty net goal to steal a 6-4
decision out from under the Caps.
Smith-Pelly finished the game with one shot on goal and was a minus-1 in
11 minutes of ice time.
Postseason… With the
opening round of the playoffs between Washington and Carolina tied at two games
apiece, the Caps recalled Smith-Pelly from Hershey. If it was an attempt to recapture the magic
he displayed in the 2018 postseason, it did not have the desired effect. Smith-Pelly skated in Games 5-7, did not
record a point, and posted two shots on goal while averaging 9:47 in ice time.
Looking ahead…
Devante Smith-Pelly’s one-year contract with the Caps is
expiring. Given the step back his game
took this season after the superb postseason he had in 2018, it would appear
that he will not be re-upped by the team, even though the team expressed some
conditional willingness to re-sign him.
The salary cap arithmetic, given the restricted free agents that the
club will have to consider, does not seem to argue for a new deal unless he
takes a substantial cut in pay. Arguing
in his favor, however, is that the Capitals are thin in forward prospects who otherwise
might be counted on to contribute with a smaller salary cap footprint.
In the end…
Devante Smith-Pelly is one of the more curious players in
Caps history despite having been with the club only two seasons. His regular season production has been of the
sort that makes for frequent stops in a career (Washington is his fourth team
in eight NHL seasons. Even in his best
statistical season in 2015-2016 (14-11-25), he played for two teams (Montreal
and New Jersey). However, in three
postseason trips before this year, he had 13 goals in 50 games, including the
seven he had in 24 games with the Caps in the 2018 playoff run. It might be worth noting that he played those
three postseasons for three different teams (Anaheim, Montreal, and
Washington), but he is certainly capable of bigger things in the regular season
than he has displayed, especially in this most recent one that has to be considered a disappointment. It makes for a
difficult decision for the Caps, one of many they will have to make this
off-season.
Grade: C-
Photo: John McDonnell/Washington Post
