Amateur Smith was drafted in the first round, 18th overall, of the
1992 NHL entry draft by the
New Jersey Devils. As a member of the
Western Hockey League (WHL)'s
Regina Pats, he was named to the WHL's All-Rookie Team for the
1991–92 season and the WHL First All-Star Team in
1992–93, also winning the
Bill Hunter Trophy as the WHL's top defenceman in the latter season. Internationally, Smith was also a member of the
gold medal-winning
Canadian junior team at the
World Junior Ice Hockey Championship in
1993 in
Sweden, a roster also including future NHL stars
Chris Pronger,
Adrian Aucoin,
Paul Kariya,
Manny Legace and
Martin Lapointe.
Professional Smith made his NHL debut with the Devils during the
1993–94 season, though he spent the majority of the season in the
American Hockey League (AHL) with the team's affiliate, the
Albany River Rats. He then missed the majority of the
1994–95 season due to a knee injury, but recovered in time to play in one
Stanley Cup playoff game, his playoff debut, before eventually returning to captain the River Rats to a
Calder Cup championship in
1995, the
same year the Devils captured their first
Stanley Cup. Then next season,
1995–96, Smith became a regular fixture on New Jersey's NHL roster. On February 25, 1997, during the
1996–97 season, Smith was involved in a blockbuster trade, moving to the
Toronto Maple Leafs, along with
Steve Sullivan and the rights to
Alyn McCauley, in exchange for
Doug Gilmour,
Dave Ellett and New Jersey's fourth-round draft pick in
1999 (which Toronto had acquired in the
Dave Andreychuk trade the year before.) Smith spent parts of three seasons in Toronto before being traded to the
Edmonton Oilers on March 3, 1999, during the
1998–99 season. When the Oilers' team captain
Doug Weight was later traded to the
St. Louis Blues, Smith's strong leadership tendencies resulted in his being handed the captaincy, where he would ultimately match
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 lock-out in which the
2004–05 season was cancelled. Smith captained the 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 gruelling seven-game series. He contributed one goal and four assists during Edmonton's surprise playoff run. On July 1, 2007, Edmonton General Manager
Kevin Lowe traded Smith, along with forward
Joffrey Lupul, to the
Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for
Joni Pitkänen,
Geoff Sanderson and Philadelphia's third-round draft pick in
2009. In his first and only season in Philadelphia, Smith captained a rebuilt Flyers squad to an
Eastern Conference showdown against their inter-state rivals, the
Pittsburgh Penguins. Despite the fact that the Penguins won the series, the Flyers' turnaround from the worst team in the NHL to their status in
2007–08 was a testament to Smith's leadership abilities. In the
2008–09 season, Smith played his last year in the NHL with the
Ottawa Senators before retiring from professional hockey on September 2, 2009. He later became an assistant coach for the Senators. ==Personal life==