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Thursday, December 30, 1999
Smitty smilin'
That's arguably the happiest Steve Smith has ever been to fork out $500.
"For the winning goal," he explained, nodding over at his pre-game pledge duly noted on the dressing-room board. "So I guess Iggy gets a little after-Christmas present."
Smith received an after-Christmas present himself last night: Game action. His first since dislocating an elbow and having what had been a sub-par season thrown into further chaos.
The 12 minutes and 49 seconds the Flames' captain officially logged is well below his average. He played, as usual, a solid, simple game; undoubtedly felt the fire in his lungs and the rust clinging to his legs.
He's been hors d'combat, after all, since Nov. 6.
"It's been a long, excruciating seven weeks," he sighed of the recovery. And it likely seemed a long, excruciating 60 minutes last night.
"But just to be out there again, on the ice, on the bench, in the flow of the game, it was wonderful," he said.
And he slides into a winning situation, which was far from the case when the elbow gave out. The Flames just finished their first eight-win December since 1992 and wound up 8-3-3-1 in the month, collecting 20 of a possible 28 points.
"It's been great to see the way this team has stuck together," lauded Smith. "Everyone stayed with the plan. First off, of course, we've gotten out-of-this-world goaltending. Guys have been chipping in with timely goals.
"But, as someone who's been around awhile, do you know what the most impressive thing has been about this month for me? There's been no ego problems inside this room. Not a hint of any. When a team has some success, that's usually when the petty jealousies and things begin to creep in. When you start hearing the complaining. Not here."
No one will hear Steve Smith doing any bellyaching, either. He's just ecstatic to be back in harness.
And in the long run, there are those who feel these weeks of rehab will benefit Smith. His conditioning, poor at the outset due to a lingering ankle infection, is now top-of-the-line.
He has a fresh start, in superb condition, and is rested and raring to go for the second half of the season.
"I don't think I ever came into a camp as weak as I did this one," he admitted. "The ankle infection really posed a problem. It was 10 games before I could even tie up my skate laces. I struggled with it. I really did. It's frustrating.
"Given my talent level, I really can't be having that type of problem and still be effective."
So, how did the elbow hold up, anyway?
"Felt fine. Bottom line, I couldn't hurt it any more. And I told the doctors I could play with some pain. So it was my decision to play tonight. There really was no timetable. I've certainly done as much as humanly possible to gauge it during practices.
"There wasn't a lot of hitting tonight. So the elbow didn't really get a true, hard test. If I'd played in the Philly game the other day, against all those big boys, I probably would've gotten a better read.
"But there'll be tough, physical games coming up soon enough."
Try the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 2. Coach Marc Crawford was so incensed by his team's showing in the Flames' 2-0 win out there on Boxing Day that he made them practice for 40 minutes without pucks. So that might just be that test the captain's elbow needs.
Smith smiled. "Might be at that.
"I didn't play a lot but I thought I contributed. And we won. So, sure, you could say the evening was a total success from my point of view."
Even considering the lost 500 clams?
"Yeah," replied Smith, with contentment, "even considering that."
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