Smith signs two-year, $4.4 million contract with Oilers

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Mike Smith signed a two-year, $4.4 million contract to remain with the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday. It has an average annual value of $2.2 million.

The 39-year-old goalie could have become an unrestricted free agent July 28; he signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the Oilers on Oct. 10, 2020.

“At this point in my career, you don’t want to be moving around all over the place to unchartered waters,” Smith said. “My goal was to come back to Edmonton and hopefully finish my career in Edmonton. I’ve really enjoyed playing there, I’ve really enjoyed living there and I really want to do everything I can to help this team win a Stanley Cup in Edmonton. I think there would be no better way to go out than to bring the Stanley Cup back to the city of Edmonton, finish off my career in that sense. So I never really explored any other options.”

Smith was 21-6-2 with a 2.31 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and three shutouts in 32 games (30 starts) for Edmonton this season. It was his lowest GAA and highest save percentage since 2011-12 with the Phoenix Coyotes (2.21 GAA, .930 save percentage).

But Smith was 0-4 with a 2.40 GAA and .912 save percentage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, when the Oilers were swept by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round.

“(I) feel like we have some unfinished business,” Smith said. “So motivated to personally play as well as I did last year and as a team, hopefully we can learn from our mistakes that happened last year and move forward and try to build on something good that happened.”

Selected by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round (No. 161) of the 2001 NHL Draft, Smith is 283-254-76 with a 2.69 GAA, .912 save percentage and 42 shutouts in 642 regular-season games (618 starts) with the Oilers, Calgary Flames, Coyotes, Tampa Bay Lightning and Stars, and 11-17 with a 2.34 GAA, .931 save percentage and four shutouts in 29 playoff games (27 starts).

“I really feel like Edmonton is a good fit for me,” Smith said. “I think we’ve built something really good in the last couple years since I’ve been there, and I feel we’re on the right track to do something special. So getting the two years was important to me.”