Ben Smith Joins Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche announced today that they have signed Ben Smith to a one-year contract.

Smith is a 2010 graduate of Boston College and was an important part of BC's 2008 and 2010 NCAA Championship teams. He had his best college season as a sophomore, scoring 25 goals and recording 25 assists.

The Avalanche will be Smith's 4th professional organization. He began his career with the Chicago Blackhawks, spending most of his time in the AHL (with Rockford) until the 2013-14 season. He recorded 26 points in 75 games during his first full NHL season.

Smith spent most of the 2014-15 season in the NHL with the Blackhawks before being traded to San Jose. He played 19 games for the Sharks that season, scoring two goals and picking up 3 assists.

Smith struggled for the first half of the 2015-16 season after returning from a concussion. He played 6 games for the Sharks and 14 games for their AHL affiliate before being traded to Toronto. During his AHL recuperation stint, Smith scored 8 goals for the San Jose Barracuda.

Upon being traded to Toronto in February 2016, Smith played 16 games for the Maple Leafs and 20 games for the Toronto Marlies (AHL). Fifteen of his Marlies games occurred during the Calder Cup playoffs. He recorded 9 assists and scored 2 goals for the Marlies in the playoffs.

Smith joins Colorado at an interesting time, as head coach and Vice President of Hockey Operations, Patrick Roy, recently quit.

We saw Smith starting to hit his stride post-concussion with the Barracuda and in Toronto, so hopefully we'll see good things from him in Colorado.