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Cole Smith

Position	Left Wing / Right Wing	Current Team	Vegas Golden Knights
Shoots	Left	Current Contract	2 years ($1,000.0K CapHit)
Height	6'3"	Expires	2025-26
Weight (lbs)	195	Expiry Age (Jun 30)	30
Age (DOB)	30 (Oct 28, 1995)	Expiry Status	UFA
Drafted	Undrafted

Date	Team	Transaction
Mar 4, 2026	Vegas Golden Knights	Acquired from Nashville Predators
Mar 4, 2026	Nashville Predators	Traded to Vegas Golden Knights
Dec 17, 2025	Nashville Predators	Activated from IR
Nov 7, 2025	Nashville Predators	Placed on IR
Jan 21, 2025	Nashville Predators	Activated from IR
Dec 23, 2024	Nashville Predators	Placed on IR
Jan 24, 2024	Nashville Predators	Signed 2 years @ $1.000M AAV starting in 2024-25
Feb 6, 2023	Nashville Predators	Signed 1 year @ $775K AAV starting in 2023-24
Jul 14, 2022	Nashville Predators	Signed 1 year @ $750K AAV starting in 2022-23
Jul 15, 2021	Nashville Predators	Signed 1 year @ $750K AAV starting in 2021-22
Mar 19, 2020	Nashville Predators	Signed to an entry level contract.

Status History Coming Soon

URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20252026/cole-smith-8482062.png

URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20242025/cole-smith-8482062.png

URL: https://thestanleycap.com/cdn/player_cards/20232024/cole-smith-8482062.png

About Player Cards

Player cards present an infographic of a players performance using a series of Player Archetypes developed for Puckalytics.com and TheStanleyCap.com. The boxes in the rink image show the archetype ratings for the season specified in the card while the graphs to the right show the five-year trends for those archetypes.

Except for Faceoffs, the values shown are the players z-score (standard deviation from the mean) for the specific metric used to calculate the archetype values. When calculating z-scores forwards were compared to forwards and defensemen were compared to defensemen. Positive values indicate the player is above average and shaded in blue, while negative values indicate the player is below average and shaded in pink. The five year trend charts show a range of -4.0 to 4.0.

The value shown for Faceoffs is the faceoff winning percentage rather than their z-score with winning percentages below 50 in pink shades and above 50 in blue shades.

All archetypes are 5v5 except 5v4 TOI, 4v5 TOI, Skating (even strength) and Faceoffs (all situations). Archetypes use regular season data only.

Archetypes Summary

Sniper - Measures the to score above the expected goal rate.
Rebound - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rebounds (forwards only).
5v4 TOI - Powerplay ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 5v4 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
Shooter - Measures whether a players points come from shots (goals or assists on rebounds from his shots).
Producer - Measures a players ability to produce goals and assists, adjusted for quality of teammates.
Playmaker - Measures whether a players points come from passes.
Drive - Measures a players ability to drive puck possession and generate shot attempts for his team.
Rush - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rush plays
Possession - An indicator of a players ability to improve his teams puck possession game.
Faceoffs - Faceoff Winning Percentage (min. 75 faceoffs taken).
5v5 TOI - The percentage of his teams 5v5 TOI that the player was on the ice for.
Suppress - Measures a players ability to suppress opponent puck possession and shot attempts against.
Skating - An indicator of a players skating ability, or speed bursts above 20mph per mile skated.
Defend - An indicator of a players ability to suppress shot quality against.
4v5 TOI - Penalty Kill ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 4v5 ice time that the player was on the ice for.

Data Sources

Salary data is from TheStanleyCap.com
Skating data is from NHL Edge
Other statistics are from Puckalytics.com and derived from data from NHL.com

Terms of Use

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You credit TheStanleyCap.com as the source and provide a link back to TheStanleyCap.com or this player page.
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Note: Player cards will update daily throughout the season so if you want to include snapshot then you must download the image.

If you have any questions, send an e-mail to the e-mail address at the top of this page.

Read Introducing Player Archetypes on HockeyAnalysis.com for more details on archetype calculations.

Core Archetypes

Season	Team(s)	GP	Producer	Playmaker	Shooter	Sniper	Rebound	Rush	Skating	Defend
2020-21	NSH	1	-	-	-	-1.86	-2.02	-1.74	-	2.76
2021-22	NSH	8	-2.20	-1.69	-1.54	-3.79	7.11	-2.04	0.70	-1.56
2022-23	NSH	69	-0.98	0.01	-1.18	-1.81	1.71	-1.26	0.49	-0.06
2023-24	NSH	80	-0.99	-0.53	-0.88	-1.23	0.19	-0.73	0.91	0.13
2024-25	NSH	71	-1.34	-0.66	-1.18	-1.02	-1.38	1.46	0.49	0.79
2025-26	NSH, VGK	62	-1.83	-1.61	-0.87	-1.59	0.10	-1.02	0.80	-0.11

Situational and Secondary Archetypes

Season	Team(s)	GP	5v5 TOI	5v4 TOI	4v5 TOI	Possession	Drive	Suppress	Faceoffs
2020-21	NSH	1	-3.88	-2.13	-2.21	-9.28	-4.48	15.96	-
2021-22	NSH	8	-2.18	-1.96	-1.13	-3.22	-1.93	2.99	-
2022-23	NSH	69	-0.95	-1.85	0.89	-0.35	-1.03	-1.06	-
2023-24	NSH	80	-0.46	-1.84	1.08	-0.94	-1.27	-0.21	-
2024-25	NSH	71	-0.73	-1.96	1.44	-0.97	-1.08	0.02	-
2025-26	NSH, VGK	62	-0.59	-1.83	1.05	-0.07	-1.19	-1.36	-

About Archetypes

Player archetypes are a look at a players strengths and weaknesses in his game when compared to other players around the leeague. Except for Faceoffs, the values shown are the players z-score (standard deviation from the mean) for the specific metric used to calculate the archetype values. When calculating z-scores forwards were compared to forwards and defensemen were compared to defensemen. Positive values indicate the player is above average and shaded in blue, while negative values indicate the player is below average and shaded in pink. The five year trend charts show a range of -4.0 to 4.0.

The value shown for Faceoffs is the faceoff winning percentage rather than their z-score with winning percentages below 50 in pink shades and above 50 in blue shades.

All archetypes are 5v5 except 5v4 TOI, 4v5 TOI and Faceoffs (all situations). Archetypes use regular season data only.

Archetypes Summary

Producer - Measures a players ability to produce goals and assists, adjusted for quality of teammates.
Playmaker - Measures whether a players points come from passes.
Shooter - Measures whether a players points come from shots (goals or assists on rebounds from his shots).
Sniper - Measures the to score above the expected goal rate.
Rebound - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rebounds (forwards only).
Rush - Measures the percent of a players shot attempts that come from rush plays
Skating - An indicator of a players skating ability, or speed bursts above 20mph per mile skated.
Defend - An indicator of a players ability to suppress shot quality against.
5v5 TOI - The percentage of his teams 5v5 TOI that the player was on the ice for.
5v4 TOI - Powerplay ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 5v4 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
4v5 TOI - Penalty Kill ice time, calculated as the percentage of his teams 4v5 ice time that the player was on the ice for.
Possession - An indicator of a players ability to improve his teams puck possession game.
Drive - Measures a players ability to drive puck possession and generate shot attempts for his team.
Suppress - Measures a players ability to suppress opponent puck possession and shot attempts against.
Faceoffs - Faceoff Winning Percentage (min. 75 faceoffs taken).

Read Introducing Player Archetypes on HockeyAnalysis.com for more details on archetype calculations.

Data Sources

Salary data is from TheStanleyCap.com
Skating data is from NHL Edge
Other statistics are from Puckalytics.com and derived from data from NHL.com

5v5 Individual Stats

Season	Team(s)	GP	TOI	G/60	A/60	Pts/60	xG/60	GAE/60	Sh%	xSh%	Sh%AE	%SA Rush	%SA Reb.
2020-21	NSH	1	5:57	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.79	-0.79	0.00	7.79	-7.79	0.00	0.00
2021-22	NSH	8	64:30	0.00	0.00	0.00	0.38	-0.38	0.00	13.75	-13.75	0.00	25.00
2022-23	NSH	69	714:45	0.25	0.76	1.01	0.56	-0.31	5.88	13.03	-7.14	1.27	12.66
2023-24	NSH	80	887:10	0.47	0.68	1.15	0.77	-0.29	7.37	11.94	-4.57	2.34	8.59
2024-25	NSH	71	783:54	0.31	0.54	0.84	0.49	-0.18	6.78	10.74	-3.96	4.65	3.49
2025-26	VGK	21	211:38	0.28	0.00	0.28	0.63	-0.35	5.88	13.08	-7.20	3.57	7.14
2025-26	NSH	41	482:09	0.37	0.25	0.62	0.73	-0.36	7.50	14.75	-7.25	0.00	8.96
2025-26	NSH, VGK	62	693:47	0.35	0.17	0.52	0.70	-0.36	7.02	14.25	-7.23	1.05	8.42

5v5 On Ice Stats

Season	Team(s)	GP	TOI	SAF/60	GF/60	xGF/60	SAA/60	GA/60	xGA/60	GF%	xGF%	xGF Rel	xGA Rel	xGF% Rel
2020-21	NSH	1	5:57	30.25	0.00	1.11	80.67	0.00	2.33	-	32.28	-1.02	0.90	-27.58
2021-22	NSH	8	64:30	36.28	0.93	2.13	45.58	3.72	2.74	20.00	43.79	-0.47	0.56	-10.63
2022-23	NSH	69	714:45	36.94	1.51	2.26	41.64	2.10	2.64	41.86	46.14	-0.43	-0.21	-2.40
2023-24	NSH	80	887:10	38.96	2.10	2.32	40.85	2.30	2.33	47.69	49.93	-0.40	-0.11	-2.81
2024-25	NSH	71	783:54	36.28	1.53	2.06	41.03	2.68	2.33	36.36	47.01	-0.38	-0.23	-1.93
2025-26	VGK	21	211:38	40.54	0.57	2.47	30.62	1.13	1.93	33.33	56.13	-0.60	-0.26	-2.26
2025-26	NSH	41	482:09	37.08	1.49	2.15	37.46	2.99	2.38	33.33	47.45	-0.55	-0.43	-1.57
2025-26	NSH, VGK	62	693:47	38.14	1.21	2.25	35.37	2.42	2.25	33.33	50.05	-0.58	-0.35	-2.15

NHL Edge Stats

		Skating				Shooting					Zone Time
Season	GP	Top Speed	Bursts>20/mi	Avg. Speed	ES Avg. Speed	Top Speed	Avg. Speed	%Long Range	%Mid Range	%High Danger	ES DZ%	ES NZ%	ES OZ%
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Legend

Percentile 0-25

Percentile 25-50

Percentile 50-75

Percentile 75-100

Forwards are compared with forwards and Defensemen are are compared with Defensemen.

5v5 Lines

Season

Season	Teammate	Teammate	Team	TOI	GF/60	GA/60	GF%	xGF/60	xGA/60	xGF%	xGF Rel	xGA Rel	xGF% Rel
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Glossary

Type	Statistic	Definition
Individual	G/60	Goals Against per 60 minutes.
Individual	A/60	Assists per 60 minutes.
Individual	Pts/60	Points per 60 minutes.
Individual	xG/60	Expected Goals per 60 minutes.
Individual	GAE/60	Goals Above Expected (G/60 - xG/60).
Individual	Sh%	Shooting Percentage.
Individual	xSh%	Expected Shooting Percentage.
Individual	Sh%AE	Shooting percentage above expected (Sh% - xSh%).
Individual	%SA Rush	Percentage of shot attempts determined to be on the rush.
Individual	%SA Reb.	Percentage of shot attempts determined to be from rebounds.
On Ice	SAF/60	Shot Attempts For per 60 minutes.
On Ice	GF/60	Goals For per 60 minutes.
On Ice	xGF/60	Expected Goals For per 60 minutes.
On Ice	SAA/60	Shot Attempts Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On Ice	GA/60	Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On Ice	xGA/60	Expected Goals Against per 60 minutes (lower is better).
On Ice	GF%	Goals For Percentage = Goals For / (Goals For + Goals Against)
On Ice	xGF%	Expected Goals For Percentage = Expected Goals For / (Expected Goals For + Expected Goals Against)
On Ice	xGF Rel	xGF/60 when On Ice - xGF/60 when not On Ice.
On Ice	xGA Rel	xGA/60 when On Ice - xGA/60 when not On Ice (lower is better).
On Ice	xGF% Rel	xGF% when On Ice - xGF% when not On Ice.

Individual and On-Ice stats from Puckalytics.com (starting in 2015-16). NHL Edge Stats from edge.nhl.com (starting in 2021-22). Edge statistic definitions can be found at the Edge Stats Glossary.

News and Opinions

Send in the brooms! Golden Knights' improbable run continues to the Stanley Cup Finals with sweep of Colorado at Vegas Hockey Knight (Wed May 27, 2026)
Former Predators Smith, Sissons, Lauzon To Play For Stanley Cup With Golden Knights at Yahoo Sports NHL (Wed May 27, 2026)
John Tortorella says that there's no concern with one Smith at Vegas Hockey Knight (Mon May 25, 2026)
Series preview: Golden Knights, Avalanche set for star-studded matchup to crown best of the West at Knights on Ice (Wed May 20, 2026)
Golden Knights Lose All-Important Game 4, Ducks Even Series at Yahoo Sports NHL (Mon May 11, 2026)
How the traded Nashville Predators players are handling in the Stanley Cup Playoffs so far at Pred Lines (Mon May 4, 2026)
Here's Why The Nashville Predators Are Rooting For Vegas Golden Knights In Game 6 at Yahoo Sports NHL (Fri May 1, 2026)
Smith's goal midway through the 3rd period helps the Golden Knights beat the Canucks 2-1 at Yahoo Sports NHL (Wed Apr 8, 2026)
Golden Knights top Canucks in Tortorella’s debut at Knights on Ice (Tue Mar 31, 2026)
Carving out a pathway for Cole Smith to stay with the Vegas Golden Knights at Vegas Hockey Knight (Thu Mar 5, 2026)
Nashville Predators NHL Trade Deadline Tracker: Blankenburg Traded, Multiple Admirals Called Up at Yahoo Sports NHL (Thu Mar 5, 2026)
Tomas Hertl completes comeback, lifts Golden Knights to 4-3 OT win over Red Wings at Knights on Ice (Thu Mar 5, 2026)
Golden Knights Add Grit, Acquire Cole Smith From Predators at Yahoo Sports NHL (Wed Mar 4, 2026)
NHL Notebook: Nashville Predators trade Cole Smith to Golden Knights and Michael McCarron to Wild at Flames Nation (Wed Mar 4, 2026)
Predators’ Cole Smith Pulled Midgame Before Being Traded to Golden Knights at The Hockey Writers (Wed Mar 4, 2026)
Here's what Vegas Golden Knights fans can expect with Cole Smith on board at Vegas Hockey Knight (Wed Mar 4, 2026)
Golden Knights acquire Cole Smith from Nashville at Knights on Ice (Wed Mar 4, 2026)
Another one down as Cole Smith is traded to Las Vegas at Pred Lines (Wed Mar 4, 2026)
Golden Knights Acquire Cole Smith From the Predators at The Hockey Writers (Wed Mar 4, 2026)
Preds deal winger Smith to Knights for '28 pick at ESPN (Wed Mar 4, 2026)
Nashville Predators Trade Cole Smith To Golden Knights For Christopher Sedoff, Draft Pick at Yahoo Sports NHL (Wed Mar 4, 2026)
Vegas Golden Knights do more business with the Nashville Predators and get another Smith at Vegas Hockey Knight (Wed Mar 4, 2026)
2025-2026 Nashville Predators Player Previews: A Pivotal Year of Cole Smith's Career at Pred Lines (Fri Sep 19, 2025)

Current Contract

Cole Smith signed a $2,000,000 2-year contract with the Nashville Predators and General Manager Barry Trotz on January 24, 2024 with an AAV of $1,000,000. This contract will start in 2024-25 and end after the 2025-26 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 1.14% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (UFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2024-25	28	$1,000,000	$1,000,000	-	-	$1,000,000	$1,000,000	$1,000,000	UFA
2025-26	29	$1,000,000	$1,000,000	-	-	$1,000,000	$1,000,000	$1,000,000	UFA
Total				-	-	$2,000,000	$2,000,000	$2,000,000

Signed: Jan 24, 2024

Team: Nashville Predators

GM: Barry Trotz

Exp. Status: UFA

Cap %: 1.14

Previous Contracts (show) (hide)

Cole Smith signed a $775,000 1-year contract with the Nashville Predators and General Manager David Poile on February 6, 2023 with an AAV of $775,000. This contract will start in 2023-24 and end after the 2023-24 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 0.93% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2023-24	27		$775,000	$775,000	-	-	$775,000	$775,000	$775,000	UFA
Total					-	-	$775,000	$775,000	$775,000

Signed: Feb 6, 2023

Team: Nashville Predators

GM: David Poile

Exp. Status: UFA

Cap %: 0.93

Cole Smith signed a $750,000 1-year contract with the Nashville Predators and General Manager David Poile on July 14, 2022 with an AAV of $750,000. This contract will start in 2022-23 and end after the 2022-23 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 0.91% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2022-23	26		$750,000	$750,000	-	-	$750,000	$750,000	$80,000	RFA-arb
Total					-	-	$750,000	$750,000	$80,000

Signed: July 14, 2022

Team: Nashville Predators

GM: David Poile

Exp. Status: UFA

Cap %: 0.91

Note: Guaranteed minimum salary in 2022-23 is $115,000.

Cole Smith signed a $750,000 1-year contract with the Nashville Predators and General Manager David Poile on July 15, 2021 with an AAV of $750,000. This contract will start in 2021-22 and end after the 2021-22 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 0.92% of the salary cap.

Standard Contract (RFA) ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2021-22	25		$750,000	$750,000	-	-	$750,000	$750,000	$70,000	RFA-arb
Total					-	-	$750,000	$750,000	$70,000

Signed: July 15, 2021

Team: Nashville Predators

GM: David Poile

Exp. Status: RFA-arb

Cap %: 0.92

Cole Smith signed a $792,500 1-year contract with the Nashville Predators and General Manager David Poile on March 19, 2020 with an AAV of $792,500. This contract will start in 2020-21 and end after the 2020-21 season. In the first season of the contract the cap hit was equivalent to 0.97% of the salary cap.

Entry Level Contract ( ) (0 ratings)

Season	Age*	Clause	Cap Hit	AAV	Perf. Bonus	Sign. Bonus	Salary	Compensation	Minors Salary	Status
2020-21	24		$792,500	$925,000	$132,500	$92,500	$700,000	$792,500	$70,000	ELC
Total					$132,500	$92,500	$700,000	$792,500	$70,000

Signed: Mar 19, 2020

Team: Nashville Predators

GM: David Poile

Exp. Status: RFA-arb

Career Statistics

			Regular Season									Playoffs
Season	League	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Shots	Sh%	TOI/G	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PIM	Shots	Sh%	TOI/G
2011-12	USHS-MN	Brainerd High	25	17	6	23		25				3	1	1	2		2
2012-13	USHS-MN	Brainerd High	24	21	18	39		53				3	1	2	3
2013-14	UMHSEHL	Team Velocity	18	7	7	14		10
2013-14	USHS-MN	Brainerd High	23	18	23	41		50				2	1	1	2		2
2014-15	MJHL	Steinbach Pistons	38	12	11	23		25				12	6	2	8		2
2015-16	MJHL	Steinbach Pistons	54	26	35	61		45				15	7	11	18		16
2016-17	NCAA	Univ. of North Dakota	29	3	4	7	-4	24
2017-18	NCAA	Univ. of North Dakota	37	5	5	10	+7	66
2018-19	NCAA	Univ. of North Dakota	37	5	11	16	+12	50
2019-20	NCAA	Univ. of North Dakota	34	11	7	18	+6	37
2020-21	AHL	Chicago Wolves	23	5	5	10	-1	16
2020-21	ECHL	Florida Everblades	5	1	2	3	+5
2020-21	NHL	Nashville Predators	1	0	0	0			1	0.0	5:57
2021-22	NHL	Nashville Predators	8	0	0	0	-3		3	0.0	8:50
2021-22	AHL	Milwaukee Admirals	59	21	20	41	+3	62				9	3	2	5	-3	8
2022-23	NHL	Nashville Predators	69	4	13	17	-3	60	64	6.2	12:45
2023-24	NHL	Nashville Predators	80	9	14	23	+5	63	112	8.0	13:41	5				-1		5	0.0	13:26
2024-25	NHL	Nashville Predators	71	4	8	12	-15	69	69	5.8	13:36
2025-26	NHL	Nashville Predators	42	6	4	10	-7	31	51	11.8	14:07
2025-26	NHL	Vegas Golden Knights	21	2	0	2		9	18	11.1	11:38	16	3	2	5	+4	22	10	30.0	11:41
NHL Career			292	25	39	64	-23	232	318	7.9	13:12	21	3	2	5	+3	22	15	20.0	12:06