Mike Smith re-signs in Tampa

From Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times:

The Lightning announced it has signed goaltender Mike Smith to a two-year contract extension that begins in 2009-10. Smith, next season, will finish off a two-year contract that will pay $950,000 in 2008-09.

Here’s more from the team’s announcement:

“It goes without saying that Mike has a bright future in the Lightning organization,” vice president of hockey operations Brian Lawton said. “It is important in our plan to have locked up Mike, along with Ollie, to solidify our goaltending situation this season and beyond.”

Read the entire story from Lightning Strikes here.

There were rumors that Smith was on the block earlier this month, but those don’t seem to be true. That is a good thing for Bolts fans, as Smith is a very good young netminder. In fact, his puck-moving ability should be a huge asset to Tampa’s young defense. Smith should get the majority of the starts over Olaf Kolzig. Whether that happens or not is anyone’s guess.