No. 14: Jason Smith
Defenseman
18th Overall, 1992
The first player on this list to appear in 1000 NHL games, Jason Smith forged a lengthy career for himself that spanned over 15 seasons. After a 41-game rookie campaign in 1993-1994, Smith only played two games for New Jersey in the lockout-shortened 1994-1995 season due to injury. Despite his stifled NHL play, Smith presided as captain over the Albany River Rats, who won the Calder Cup that same year.
Smith only appeared in parts of four seasons with the Devils from 1993-1997, playing 162 games where he got three goals and six points. In 1997, Smith, along with Steve Sullivan and rights to Alyn McCauley were traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Dave Ellet, forward Doug Gilmour, and a draft pick. Toronto traded Smith to the Edmonton Oilers in 1999 for two picks, where he played for the next seven years. Smith was awarded the captaincy in 2001, a title he donned for five seasons—which ties Wayne Gretzky for longest-serving captain in Oilers history. Smith played 542 games in an Oilers uniform, whose leadership was instrumental during their storybook run to the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.
Smith was on the move again when Edmonton dealt him to the Philadelphia Flyers in 2007, along with Joffrey Lupul, in exchange for defenseman Joni Pitkanen, forward Geoff Sanderson, and a draft pick. He served as Philadelphia’s captain in the one and only year he played for them and spent his last season with the Ottawa Senators. Smith wasn’t by any means a star-caliber player, but his stay-at-home play and leadership skills made him a valued asset everywhere he went—a reminder that every successful first-round pick doesn’t have to become a superstar.