RALEIGH, NC. - Eric Tulsky, General Manager of the National Hockey League’s Carolina Hurricanes, today announced that the team has re-signed defenseman Ty Smith to a one-year, two-way contract. He will receive $775,000 at the NHL level and $200,000 at the American Hockey League (AHL) level, with a $275,000 guarantee.
“Ty is still developing as a player, but he possesses a keen ability to generate offense from the blue line,” said Tulsky. “Our style of play relies on defensemen to pitch in offensively, and he is an experienced NHL player who can fill that role for our team.”
Smith, 24, tallied 43 points (9g, 34a) in 63 AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton in 2023-24, leading all Penguins skaters in assists and points. He also finished eighth in assists, tied for ninth in points, fifth in power-play assists (17) and tied for sixth in power-play points (18) among all AHL defensemen. Smith has registered 67 points (16g, 51a) in 102 career AHL games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton over the past two seasons. The 5’11”, 180-pound blueliner also played 123 NHL games with New Jersey and Pittsburgh from 2021-23, earning 47 points (8g, 39a). Smith was named to the 2020-21 NHL All-Rookie Team after pacing all rookie defensemen with 23 points (2g, 21a) in 48 games. The Lloydminster, Alta., native posted 235 points (45g, 190a) in 240 games over parts of five WHL seasons with Spokane, captaining the Chiefs in 2018-19 and 2019-20. Smith also won the Bill Hunter Trophy as the WHL’s top defenseman in both of those seasons and was named the CHL Defenseman of the Year in 2018-19. He represented Canada at the IIHF Under-18 World Championship (2017, 2018) and the IIHF World Junior Championship (2019, 2020), captaining the team in 2018 and serving as an alternate captain in 2020. Selected by New Jersey in the first round, 17th overall, of the 2018 NHL Draft, Smith was acquired by Carolina from Pittsburgh along with Jake Guentzel on March 7.
