Steve Smith (ice hockey, born April 30, 1963)

This article is about the Stanley Cup champion defenceman. For the journeyman defenceman, see Steve Smith (ice hockey, born April 4, 1963). For other people of the same name, see Steven Smith.

Steve Smith
Born	(1963-04-30) April 30, 1963 Glasgow, Scotland, U.K.
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Edmonton Oilers Chicago Blackhawks Calgary Flames
National team	Canada
NHL draft	111th overall, 1981 Edmonton Oilers
Playing career	1984–2000

James Stephen Smith (born April 30, 1963) is a Scottish-born Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and former assistant coach of the Buffalo Sabres, Carolina Hurricanes and Edmonton Oilers. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1984–85 to 2000–01 and coached from 2010–11 to 2020–21. Currently, Smith is the interim head coach with the Hartford Wolfpack of the American Hockey League (AHL). Smith played in the 1991 All-Star game in Chicago and was part of the 1991 Canadian Team that won the Canada Cup in Toronto.

Playing career

Smith played for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League from 1980–81 to 1982–83 before being drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in the 1981 NHL Entry Draft in the 6th round, 111th overall. He spent his first 2 years of professional hockey (1983–84 to 1984–85) playing for the Oilers minor league affiliate teams (Moncton and Halifax). He played with the Oilers starting in the 1984–85 season. He went on to play 804 career games scoring 375 points (72-303-375) along with 2,139 penalty minutes. Smith also played in 134 Stanley Cup Playoff games, scoring 52 points (11-41-52).

Smith played for the Oilers until the end of the 1990–91 season, winning three Stanley Cups with the team. Smith remains the Oilers' single-season leader in penalty minutes with 286, which he set during the 1987–88 season. He then played for the Chicago Blackhawks until 1997. He announced his retirement due to injury following the 1996–97 season but made a comeback in 1998–99 playing parts of three seasons with the Flames, retiring for good in December 2000.

The "own goal"

Although Smith scored 83 goals in his NHL career (including 11 in the playoffs), he may be best known for a shot that went into his own net. On April 30, 1986, Smith's 23rd birthday, in the seventh game of the Smythe Division Final against the Calgary Flames, Calgary's Perry Berezan dumped the puck into the Edmonton zone before leaving the ice on a line change. Smith recovered the puck behind his net and intended to send it down the ice, only to accidentally bounce it off goaltender Grant Fuhr's skate and into his own net, giving the Flames a 3–2 lead. (Although he was already off the ice, Berezan was the last Flame to touch the puck and was thus credited with the goal: a rare instance of a hockey player "scoring" a goal while sitting on the bench.) The top-seeded Oilers could not get the equalizer, and thus lost the game and were eliminated from the playoffs. Many fans blamed Smith for the loss, but in his autobiography Wayne Gretzky called that opinion "a total cop-out", asserting that the Oilers should've clinched the series well before Game Seven. (As of 2023, Calgary and Edmonton have met in the Stanley Cup playoffs six times, and the 1986 tilt remains the Flames' only victory.) When the Oilers recaptured the Stanley Cup in 1987, Smith was the first player to be handed the cup from Gretzky after receiving it from NHL President John Ziegler.

Coaching career

Smith was an assistant coach with the Flames in 1997–98. He worked as a scout with the Chicago Blackhawks before spending four seasons on the Oilers coaching staff from 2010 to 2014. He was hired as an assistant coach of the Hurricanes in June 2014, and then as the assistant coach of the Sabres in July 2018. Smith, along with head coach Ralph Krueger were relieved of their duties by the Sabres on March 17, 2021. He was then hired by the New York Rangers minor league affiliate team the Hartford Wolf Pack as an assistant coach and was named their interim head coach when Kris Knoblauch was hired to be the Edmonton Oilers' head coach.

Personal life

Smith was born in Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom, but grew up in Cobourg, Ontario and has two brothers, David and Ian.

He is married and has five children. His son, Barron Smith (born April 2, 1991), was selected by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 7th round of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Awards

• 1986–87 – NHL – Stanley Cup (Edmonton)
• 1987–88 – NHL – Stanley Cup (Edmonton)
• 1989–90 – NHL – Stanley Cup (Edmonton)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1980–81	London Knights	OHL		62	4	12	16	141		—	—	—	—	—
1981–82	London Knights	OHL		58	10	36	46	207		4	1	2	3	13
1982–83	London Knights	OHL		50	6	35	41	133		3	1	0	1	10
1982–83	Moncton Alpines	AHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1983–84	Moncton Alpines	AHL		64	1	8	9	176		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		2	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
1984–85	Nova Scotia Oilers	AHL		68	2	28	30	161		5	0	3	3	40
1985–86	Nova Scotia Oilers	AHL		4	0	2	2	11		—	—	—	—	—
1985–86	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		55	4	20	24	166		6	0	1	1	14
1986–87	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		62	7	15	22	165		15	1	3	4	45
1987–88	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		79	12	43	55	286		19	1	11	12	55
1988–89	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		35	3	19	22	97		7	2	2	4	20
1989–90	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		75	7	34	41	171		22	5	10	15	37
1990–91	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		77	13	41	54	193		18	1	2	3	45
1991–92	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		76	9	21	30	304		18	1	11	12	16
1992–93	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		78	10	47	57	214		4	0	0	0	10
1993–94	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		57	5	22	27	174		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		48	1	12	13	128		16	0	1	1	26
1995–96	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		37	0	9	9	71		6	0	0	0	16
1996–97	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		21	0	0	0	29		3	0	0	0	4
1998–99	Calgary Flames	NHL		69	1	14	15	80		—	—	—	—	—
1999–2000	Calgary Flames	NHL		20	0	4	4	42		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Calgary Flames	NHL		13	0	2	2	17		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				804	72	303	375	2,139		134	11	41	52	288

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991	Canada	CC		8	0	1	1	30
Senior totals				8	0	1	1	30

See also

• List of National Hockey League players born in the United Kingdom
• List of NHL players with 2,000 career penalty minutes

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Video of the own-goal