Senators re-sign Z. Smith for two more years, Greening for three

Ottawa Senators general manager Bryan Murray crossed two items off his to-do list for this off-season, as restricted free agents Zack Smith and Colin Greening singed contract extensions this afternoon. Both deals are one-way NHL contracts.

UPDATE: Renaud Levoie of RDS is reporting that Z. Smith's deal is worth $1.4M total ($700K cap hit), while Greening's is worth $2.45M total ($817K cap hit).

Z. Smith, 23, was drafted in the third round (79 overall) of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft, and has played 71 NHL games over the last three seasons, all with Ottawa. He's scored 12P (6G, 6A) and accumulated 134PIM in that span. He's also had significant success in the AHL since joining the organization, putting up 89P (38G, 51A) in 147 regular season GP, plus another 17P (6G, 11A) in 17GP during this year's B-Sens playoff run. With his one-way contract, Z. Smith will likely step into either of Ottawa's vacant third- or fourth-line centre roles for the 2011-12 season. His extension is a two-year deal.

Greening's deal is a three-year extension. In his first pro season this year, the 25-year-old St. John's native put up 13P (6G, 7A) in 24 NHL GP and 40P (15G, 25A) in 59 AHL GP, plus 3P (1G, 2A) in 17 playoff games. He was drafted in the seventh round (204 overall) in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, but really improved his stock in the organization with four solid years at Cornell University in the ECAC. Next season will be his first as an NHLer, and despite spending time in Ottawa's top six this past year, it seems more likely he'll slot into either the third or fourth line next season.

Even with Z. Smith and Greening signed, Ottawa still has eight restricted free agents awaiting contract offers, including Bobby Butler, Erik Condra, Roman Wick, Cody Bass, Ryan Potulny, Kaspars Daugavins, Jason Bailey, and Geoff Kinrade.