| Jason Smith | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 2, 1973 Calgary, AB, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shot | Right |
| Played for | New Jersey Devils Toronto Maple Leafs Edmonton Oilers Philadelphia Flyers Ottawa Senators |
| National team | Canada |
| NHL Draft | 18th overall, 1992 New Jersey Devils |
| Playing career | 1993–2009 |
Jason Matthew Smith (born November 2, 1973) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League from 1993–94 to 2008–09.
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Smith was drafted in the first round of the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the New Jersey Devils. As a member of the Regina Pats, he was named to the Western Hockey League's all-rookie team in 1992 and WHL first all-star team in 1993. He won the Bill Hunter Trophy as the WHL's top defenseman. Smith was a member of the gold medal winning Canadian team at the World Junior Ice Hockey Championship in 1993.
He made his NHL debut with the Devils during the 1993–94 NHL season, though the majority of the season was spent in the AHL with the Albany River Rats. He missed the majority of the 1994–95 season because of a knee injury, but played in one playoff game before returning to captain the River Rats to a Calder Cup championship in 1995, in the same year that the Devils captured their first Stanley Cup. Smith then moved up to the NHL for good, playing with the Devils until 1997 when he was dealt to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
On February 25, 1997, he was involved in a blockbuster trade, going to the Maple Leafs along with Steve Sullivan and the rights to Alyn McCauley in exchange for Doug Gilmour, Dave Ellett, and New Jersey's 4th round choice in 1999. Smith spent parts of three seasons in Toronto before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 1999. When Oilers' team captain Doug Weight was later traded to the St. Louis Blues, Smith's strong leadership resulted in his being handed the 'C'. He would tie Wayne Gretzky as the longest serving captain in Oilers history at five seasons, wearing the 'C' from 2001 to 2007, excluding the 2004-05 NHL lockout.
Smith captained the Edmonton Oilers to a largely unexpected run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals, in which they faced the Carolina Hurricanes, another dark horse team. However, the Oilers lost in the final game of a grueling seven game series to the Hurricanes. Smith contributed 1 goal and 4 assists during Edmonton's surprise playoff run.
On July 1, 2007, Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe traded Smith, along with forward Joffrey Lupul, to the Philadelphia Flyers for Joni Pitkanen and Geoff Sanderson, and Philadelphia's 3rd round choice in 2009.
In his first and only season in Philadelphia, Smith captained a rebuilt Flyers[1] squad to an Eastern Conference showdown against their inter-state rivals from Pittsburgh. Despite the fact that the Penguins won the series, the Flyers' turnaround from the worst team in the league to their status in 2007–08 was a credit to Smith's leadership abilities.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1990–91 | Regina Pats | WHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1991–92 | Regina Pats | WHL | 62 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 168 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | Regina Pats | WHL | 64 | 14 | 52 | 66 | 175 | 13 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 39 | ||
| 1992–93 | Utica Devils | AHL | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1993–94 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 20 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 41 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 43 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 1994–95 | Albany River Rats | AHL | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 11 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 19 | ||
| 1994–95 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 64 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 86 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 57 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 21 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 81 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 60 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 11 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1999–00 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 60 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2000–01 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 82 | 5 | 15 | 20 | 120 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2001–02 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 74 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 68 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 64 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 19 | ||
| 2003–04 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 68 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 98 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 76 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 84 | 24 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 16 | ||
| 2006–07 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 82 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 77 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 86 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 63 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1008 | 41 | 128 | 169 | 1099 | 68 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 60 | ||||
| Preceded by Brian Rolston |
New Jersey Devils first round draft pick 1992 |
Succeeded by Denis Pederson |
| Preceded by Doug Weight |
Edmonton Oilers captain 2001–07 |
Succeeded by Ethan Moreau |
| Preceded by Peter Forsberg |
Philadelphia Flyers captain 2007–08 |
Succeeded by Mike Richards |