15 Craig Smith RW

Predators' Craig Smith: Demoted to third line

Now with just 25 points in 50 games, Smith is currently on pace for a 40-point season -- a pretty significant step back from last year's 51-point effort. Normally one of the NHL's streakier players, his recent bout of inconsistency has now landed him in a checking-line role, which further devalues him from a fantasy perspective. Bottom line, Smith is simply not worthy of a roster spot in most standard formats right now.

Predators' Craig Smith: Leads offense in win

The 29-year-old has active goal (three games) and point (five games) streaks going, but this performance was his first multi-point effort since Dec. 1. Smith is up to 14 goals and 24 points through 43 games, and he seems comfortably headed for his fifth career 20-goal campaign.

Predators' Craig Smith: Opens scoring in win

Smith lagged slightly behind an offensive rush where he received a pass from Kevin Fiala and rifled one past an over-committed Michal Neuvirth. It was Smith's fourth point in the last five games and 11th goal of the season. He's on pace for the fifth 20-goal season of his eight-year career.

Predators' Craig Smith: Nabs helper in Saturday's loss

Now with 18 points through 37 games, Smith remains on pace for a 40-point campaign, which would be a fairly sizable step back from last year's 51-point effort. As the Predators head into the holiday break on a four-game losing streak, the team can only look forward to the eventual return of some key players from the IR, including P.K. Subban (upper body), Filip Forsberg (hand) and Viktor Arvidsson (thumb), which should only benefit Smith's production going forward.

Predators' Craig Smith: Notches goal in loss

Despite his current mini-streak, Smith has unfortunately never been one of the game's most consistent scorers. Last season's terrific 51-point effort was preceded by a 29-point dud. He's currently on pace for something in between -- somewhere in the 40-point range. Bottom line, Smith can be useful in deeper fantasy formats if you can withstand his ups and downs, but make sure you exhaust all other options first.