Craig Smith (ice hockey)

Craig Smith (born September 5, 1989) is an American ice hockey player, currently playing for the Dallas Stars in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round, 98th overall, of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Craig Smith
Smith with the Nashville Predators in 2012
Born (1989-09-05) September 5, 1989
Madison, Wisconsin, U.S.
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb)
Position Centre / Right wing
Shoots Right
NHL team
Former teams		 Dallas Stars
Washington Capitals
Nashville Predators
KalPa
Boston Bruins
National team  United States
NHL Draft 98th overall, 2009
Nashville Predators
Playing career 2011–present

Playing career

Smith played major junior hockey in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Waterloo Black Hawks. He was named to the USHL First All-Star Team for the 2008–09 season.[1]

Smith participated at the 2011 IIHF World Championship as a member of the United States men's national ice hockey team. He then went on to play two years at the University of Wisconsin for the Badgers ice hockey team.

After coming out of college early, Smith became the first player since Colin Wilson to make the Predators without first playing for the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, which at the time was the Milwaukee Admirals. On October 7, 2011, in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Smith made his NHL debut and scored his first NHL goal, which came against Steve Mason.

Following the 2014–15 season, Smith became a restricted free agent under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Predators made him a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights and, on July 5, 2015, Smith filed for Salary Arbitration.[2] On July 20, prior to his scheduled meeting, Smith entered into a new five-year, $21.25 million contract with the Predators.[3]

On September 29, 2020, after nine seasons with Nashville, Smith informed the team that he would not sign a new contract with them and that he would become a free agent. On October 10, he signed a three-year, $9.3 million contract with the Boston Bruins.[4]

On May 19, 2021, Smith scored the Game 3 double overtime winner for the Bruins against the Washington Capitals, giving them a 2-1 series lead in their first round series. He scored the goal when Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov misplayed the puck behind the net. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin controversially scolded him in Russian after the game ended.[5][6][7] The Bruins then went on to win the series against the Capitals in five games.

On February 23, 2023, Smith (along with 3 draft picks) was traded from the Bruins to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov.[8]

On July 1, 2023, the first day of free agency, Smith signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Dallas Stars.[9]


Smith with the United States men's national hockey team in a game against German's men's national hockey team.
Medal record
Ice hockey
Representing  United States
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place2013 Sweden/Finland
World Junior A Challenge
Gold medal – first place 2008 Camrose
Bronze medal – third place 2007 Trail

Personal

Smith graduated from La Follette High School in Madison, Wisconsin.[10]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2004–05 La Follette High School HS-WI 20 16 24 40 — — — — —
2005–06 La Follette High School HS-WI 20 35 26 61 — — — — —
2006–07 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 45 8 10 18 28 4 0 1 1 8
2007–08 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 58 13 10 23 90 11 2 3 5 8
2008–09 Waterloo Black Hawks USHL 54 28 48 76 108 3 1 3 4 26
2009–10 University of Wisconsin WCHA 41 8 25 33 72 — — — — —
2010–11 University of Wisconsin WCHA 41 19 24 43 87 — — — — —
2011–12 Nashville Predators NHL 72 14 22 36 30 2 0 1 1 0
2012–13 KalPa SM-l 8 4 4 8 20 — — — — —
2012–13 Nashville Predators NHL 44 4 8 12 20 — — — — —
2012–13 Milwaukee Admirals AHL 4 1 4 5 0 — — — — —
2013–14 Nashville Predators NHL 79 24 28 52 22 — — — — —
2014–15 Nashville Predators NHL 82 23 21 44 44 6 2 3 5 0
2015–16 Nashville Predators NHL 82 21 16 37 40 11 1 1 2 4
2016–17 Nashville Predators NHL 78 12 17 29 30 10 1 2 3 2
2017–18 Nashville Predators NHL 79 25 26 51 24 13 2 2 4 2
2018–19 Nashville Predators NHL 76 21 17 38 20 6 1 0 1 2
2019–20 Nashville Predators NHL 69 18 13 31 34 4 0 0 0 2
2020–21 Boston Bruins NHL 54 13 19 32 18 10 2 3 5 4
2021–22 Boston Bruins NHL 74 16 20 36 28 7 0 0 0 2
2022–23 Boston Bruins NHL 42 4 6 10 14 — — — — —
2022–23 Washington Capitals NHL 22 5 1 6 4 — — — — —
NHL totals 853 200 214 414 328 69 9 12 21 18

International
Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2008 United States WJAC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 0 0 0 0
2009 United States WJAC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 3 5 8 2
2011 United States WC 8th 7 3 3 6 4
2012 United States WC 7th 4 0 2 2 2
2013 United States WC 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 10 4 10 14 18
2014 United States WC 6th 8 3 5 8 10
Senior totals 29 10 20 30 34

Awards and honors
Award Year
USHL
All-Star Game 2009
First All-Star Team 2009 [1]
College
All-WCHA Rookie Team 2010 [11]

References
  1. "Craig Smith profile". The Hockey News. 2010-10-02. Retrieved 2010-10-02.
  2. "Smith files for arbitration". National Hockey League. 2015-07-05. Archived from the original on 2015-07-06. Retrieved 2015-07-05.
  3. "Predators sign Craig Smith to a five year contract". Nashville Predators. 2015-07-20. Retrieved 2015-07-20.
  4. "Bruins sign Craig Smith to a three-year contract". Boston Bruins. October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
  5. Dupont, Kevin Paul (May 19, 2021). "Capitals rookie goalie Ilya Samsonov made exactly the kind of mistake you worry about in the playoffs. It worked out for the Bruins". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  6. "Ilya Samsonov's short Caps career has seen highs and lows. His Game 3 packed in both". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  7. "Smith scores in 2nd OT to lead Bruins past Capitals 3-2". AP NEWS. 2021-05-20. Retrieved 2021-07-19.
  8. "Capitals trading Orlov, Hathaway to Bruins for Smith, three picks". Sportsnet.
  9. "Stars sign forward Craig Smith to a one-year contract". Dallas Stars. 2023-07-01.
  10. Madison.com, by Andy Baggot, October 31, 2006, retrieved May 26, 2020
  11. The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book/2011. Triumph Books. 2010. p. 334. ISBN 978-1-60078-422-4.
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