The National Hockey League career of former Detroit Red Wings enforcer Givani Smith is being extended after he successfully earned a contract during his professional tryout agreement with the Carolina Hurricanes.
Smith, who was the 46th pick in 2016 by the Red Wings, is now officially under contract with the Hurricanes after inking a one year, two-way deal worth $775,000 at the NHL level and $140,000 at the AHL level; $250,000 is guaranteed.
“Givani came to camp as a PTO and proved that he deserved a role in the organization,” said Hurricanes general manager Eric Tulsky. “His size and physicality make him a good fit to add depth to our forward group.”
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In just four pre-season games, Smith scored twice for the Hurricanes while adding an assist, tying for third overall in team scoring. Additionally, he also racked up 28 penalty minutes, leading the team.
Smith began his career with the Red Wings organization by appearing in three games in 2016-17 with the Grand Rapids Griffins after having played several seasons in the OHL with the Guelph Storm and Kitchener Rangers.
He then appeared in 67 games with the Griffins in 2018-19, tallying eight goals with nine assists along with 86 total penalty minutes.
Smith bounced back and forth between the Red Wings and the Griffins, racking up 108 penalty minutes alone in just 46 games with Detroit in 2021-22. Detroit then traded him to the Florida Panthers in December 2022, where he appeared in 34 games.
Since then, Smith has played with the San Jose Sharks and Colorado Avalanche, and was also part of the trade by Colorado to the Philadelphia Flyers for defenseman Erik Johnson; Smith never appeared for the Flyers, skating instead for the AHL affiliate Leigh Valley Phantoms.
Smith has skated in 168 total NHL games, and has scored nine goals with 13 assists while also racking up 268 penalty minutes.
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