“Forced Rest”: Will Smith will be left out tonight

Will Smith is in his first NHL season.

The kid, selected 4th overall in the 2023 draft, hasn’t had the start he’d hoped for, however.

He was blanked in his first four games and has a -2 rating.

In San Jose, the team is young and preparing for the future.

The Sharks have therefore made an interesting decision in the case of Will Smith: he will be left out tonight.

Not because the Sharks aren’t happy with his work… but because the Sharks want to give him the night off so as not to overtax him.

Yesterday, Smith spent 19 minutes and 9 seconds on the ice :

Load management for Smith in SJ. Played 19 minutes in last game. https://t.co/0UbhJZcuVO

– Brian Wilde (@BWildeMTL) October 18, 2024

Forced rest” is a common occurrence in the NBA.

Some of the league’s star players don’t play every game for their respective teams because they want to save their energy for when it (really) counts.

That said, we saw the Ducks do the same thing with Leo Carlsson last season.

He came over from Europe, where his workload wasn’t as heavy as it is in the NHL.

And it’s the same for Smith, who only played 41 (regular-season) games last NCAA season and isn’t used to playing that much in a single season:

Ultimately, you have to wonder whether Lane Hutson will suffer “the same fate” with the Canadiens this season.

After all, the Habs will be no further ahead if Hutson finds himself on the shelf in a month’s time due to injury.

On the other hand, Hutson plays an important role when he’s on the ice, and that hasn’t necessarily been the case with Smith so far this season.

Could the Canadiens be interested in leaving him out, even if the defenseman can help the club on the ice? The question arises… And it would be far from the end of the world if it were to happen, especially if the club is no longer in the playoff hunt at some point during the season.

Overtime

– Absolutely!

A lotta love for Justin Barron despite the loss pic.twitter.com/bd4GBwP4S7

– HFTV (@HFTVSports) October 18, 2024

– Speaking of Lane Hutson.

Lane Hutson zipping around at Habs practice today after playing 30 mins last night. pic.twitter.com/o7QfxvZtVF

– /r/Habs (@HabsOnReddit) October 18, 2024

– Big addition for the Dodgers.

Dodgers player is fit enough to reclaim his spot at first base. https://t.co/doGcY7C9jQ

– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) October 18, 2024

– Amazing.

A chapter added to my book,” ‘ …”

Due to a scheduling conflict with BC Place and the lack of other available sites in Vancouver, the…

– Nilton Jorge (@NiltonJorge) October 18, 2024