Zack Smith

Zachary Smith (born April 5, 1988) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Ottawa Senators, who drafted him 79th overall in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft.

Zack Smith
Smith with the Ottawa Senators in 2013
Born (1988-04-05) April 5, 1988
Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb)
Position Centre/Left wing
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Chicago Blackhawks
Ottawa Senators
NHL Draft 79th overall, 2008
Ottawa Senators
Playing career 2008–present

Playing career

Junior

Born in Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Smith was drafted in the third round, 79th overall, of the 2008 NHL Entry Draft by the Ottawa Senators.[1] He was rated 108th among North American skaters by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau.[2]

After playing four seasons in the Western Hockey League (WHL) with the Swift Current Broncos, Smith was offered an amateur tryout contract with the Manitoba Moose of the American Hockey League (AHL). He appeared in six playoff games with the Moose during the 2008 AHL playoffs, recording one assist.

Professional

Ottawa Senators

In the 2008–09 season, Smith signed an entry-level contract with the Ottawa Senators[3] and attended the team's training camp. He played with the team until September 21, when he was demoted to Ottawa's AHL affiliate, the Binghamton Senators. He was the final cut made by the Senators in the pre-season. He made his NHL debut as an emergency call-up for a November 29, 2008, game against the New York Islanders, registering no points. On January 16, 2010, he scored his first NHL goal, against Carey Price of the Montreal Canadiens. Smith would play in all six of Ottawa's 2010 Stanley Cup playoff games.

On May 20, 2011, Ottawa signed Smith to a two-year, one-way contract.[4] He spent the 2011–12 season with Ottawa, registering 14 goals and 26 points in 81 games, while also appearing in all seven of Ottawa's 2012 playoff games, registering one assist before as the Senators were eliminated by the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal. On 5 September 2012, it was announced Smith signed a four-year contract with the Senators worth an average annual value of $1,887,500.[5]

Smith would appear in all 48 games of the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, scoring 4 goals and 11 assists, and would score 1 goal and 1 assist in 10 games during the 2013 playoffs before Ottawa was eliminated by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference Semifinal. Smith appeared in all 82 games of the 2013–14 season, scoring 13 goals and 9 assists as Ottawa failed to qualify for the 2014 playoffs.

Smith missed most of the 2014–15 season due to dislocating a wrist after a collision with the Boston Bruins' Brad Marchand in December 2014.[6] He would return to the ice later in the season and was moved across the lines by then head coach Paul MacLean to try to improve Smith's performance, including switching Smith from a winger to a centre.[7] He would end the season with 2 goals and 1 assist in 37 games. He would also appear in three games during the 2015 playoffs in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal against the Montreal Canadiens, which the Senators lost in six games.[8]

Smith's performance drastically improved during the 2015–16 season, where he appeared in 81 games and achieved career highs in goals (25) and points (36). Early in the season, he anticipated having a productive season due to improving his skating during his off time from his wrist injury that occurred in the previous season.[8] Smith also believed his improved performance was due to playing on the top line with Mark Stone and Jean-Gabriel Pageau and by new head coach Dave Cameron's decision to move Smith from the fourth line centre to the first line left winger.[9] Smith was also nominated for the 2015–16 Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for his "perseverance and dedication to hockey".[10]

Chicago Blackhawks

Having completed his 11th season with the Senators in the 2018–19 season, Smith's tenure with Ottawa ended after he was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Artem Anisimov on July 16, 2019.[11]

In his first season away from the Senators, Smith began the 2019–20 season on the Blackhawks' fourth-line, making his debut on opening night against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 4, 2019. He was scoreless in his first 10 games with Chicago before collecting two assists against the Vegas Golden Knights on November 13, 2019. Smith made 50 appearances with the Blackhawks, posting 4 goals and 11 points, before suffering a cut from a skate blade to his hand against the Vancouver Canucks on February 12, 2020. It was later announced that Smith would miss the remainder of the regular season, due to a back injury requiring surgery on March 6, 2020.[12]

Personal life

Smith is the nephew of former NHL player Barry Dean.[13] He is the youngest sibling with 3 sisters.

Career statistics
Regular season Playoffs
SeasonTeamLeague GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
2004–05Swift Current BroncosWHL 141120 —————
2005–06Swift Current BroncosWHL 6425778 30009
2006–07Swift Current BroncosWHL 71161531130 602211
2007–08Swift Current BroncosWHL 72224870136 12551029
2007–08 Manitoba Moose AHL ————— 60110
2008–09Binghamton SenatorsAHL 79242448132 —————
2008–09Ottawa SenatorsNHL 10000 —————
2009–10Binghamton SenatorsAHL 68142741100 —————
2009–10Ottawa SenatorsNHL 1521314 60005
2010–11Binghamton SenatorsAHL 22751232 238122036
2010–11Ottawa SenatorsNHL 55459120 —————
2011–12Ottawa SenatorsNHL 8114122698 701110
2012–13Ottawa SenatorsNHL 484111556 1011231
2013–14Ottawa SenatorsNHL 8213922111 —————
2014–15Ottawa SenatorsNHL 3721318 30000
2014–15Binghamton SenatorsAHL 21121 —————
2015–16Ottawa SenatorsNHL 8125113680 —————
2016–17Ottawa SenatorsNHL 7416163261 1915612
2017–18Ottawa SenatorsNHL 685141954 —————
2018–19Ottawa SenatorsNHL 709192881 —————
2019–20Chicago BlackhawksNHL 50471129 —————
NHL totals 66298106204722 4527958
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References
  1. "DRAFT TRACKER (Rounds 2 – 7)". TSN.ca.
  2. "2008 NHL Central Scouting Rankings". TSN.ca. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
  3. "Bulletin: Senators Sign 2008 Third-Round Draft Pick Smith". Ottawa Senators. August 4, 2008. Retrieved September 30, 2008.
  4. "Bulletin: Senators re-sign forward Zack Smith to a two-year contract" (Press release). Ottawa Senators. May 20, 2011.
  5. "Senators sign Smith to four-year extension". NHL.com. November 5, 2012. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  6. "Methot, Smith injured and Pageau recalled from Binghamton". Ottawa Citizen. December 14, 2014. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  7. "Senators tinker with forward lines as they look for improvements at centre". The Globe and Mail. November 19, 2014. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  8. Scanlan, Wayne (October 29, 2015). "Svelte Zack Smith finding his stride". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  9. Warren, Ken (March 14, 2016). "Surging Smith gives Sens a big boost". Ottawa Sun. Retrieved April 10, 2016.
  10. "Ottawa Senators' Zack Smith nominated for NHL Award". CBC. March 28, 2016. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
  11. "Blackhawks acquire Zack Smith". Chicago Blackhawks. July 16, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  12. "Blackhawks' Shaw, Smith done for season". The Sports Network. February 29, 2020. Retrieved February 29, 2020.
  13. Hartsburg reminisces about NHL, WHA debuts


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