After 12 seasons and 662 games in the NHL, Zack Smith has made the decision to hang up his skates. Ian Mendes, Senior Writer at The Athletic, reported the news this morning.
After 12 seasons in the NHL, Zack Smith has decided to retire.
He opened up to me about his magical 25-goal season with the Sens, his love for the city of Ottawa — and the extreme back pain he’s been dealing with for a couple of years.
A class act. https://t.co/YXlwdqu1Dj
— Ian Mendes (@ian_mendes) September 17, 2021
Zack Smith Retires
Smith was originally drafted in the third round by the Ottawa Senators in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft. He made his debut later that year as an emergency call-up on November 29 against the New York Islanders. Smith’s first career point came the following season on January 16, 2010. He scored a goal against the Montreal Canadiens’ Carey Price. Despite only playing in 15 games that season, Smith went on to play all six playoff games for the Senators. He came into the following year with confidence and established himself as a regular in the lineup at 20 years old.
Smith would play a total of 11 seasons with the Senators before a trade sent him to the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for Artem Anisimov. He went on to play 50 games that season with the Blackhawks before sustaining a hand injury in a game against the Vancouver Canucks on February 12, 2020. That game would turn out to be his last, as he would miss the remainder of the year and the entire 2020-2021 season with back issues.
Over the course of his career, Smith accumulated 98 goals and 106 assists for a total of 204 points. Though, he was better known for his hard-nosed style of play, tallying 722 penalty minutes and 1,317 hits. Zack Smith retires as an unrestricted free agent.
How Smith Will Be Remembered
Smith is a Senator. A Senator who can say that he was a one-time 25-goal-scorer. Early in the 2018-2019 NHL season, new Head Coach Dave Cameron promoted Smith from fourth-line centre to first-line left-wing. The move paid dividends for everyone involved. Smith went on to score a career-high 25 goals and 36 points while playing on a line with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Mark Stone.
