Mike Smith

Mike Smith (born March 22, 1982) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is an unrestricted free agent.

He most recently played for the Edmonton Oilers of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Smith has previously played for the Dallas Stars, Tampa Bay Lightning, Phoenix/Arizona Coyotes, and the Calgary Flames.

Smith began his hockey career in 1999 playing for his hometown Kingston Frontenacs of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

That season, he played 15 games while backing up future NHL player Andrew Raycroft.

After the start of the 2000–01 season, Smith moved to the Sudbury Wolves, where he played 43 games, registering a 2.52 goals against average (GAA) and 0.913 save percentage in the regular season.

The Wolves made it to the second round of the playoffs that year with Smith in net.

Selected by the Dallas Stars in the 2001 NHL draft, Smith played in the American Hockey League (AHL) for the Utah Grizzlies, Houston Aeros, and the Iowa Stars.

In the 2001 NHL Entry Draft, Smith was drafted by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round (161st overall), and continued to play in Sudbury, again taking the Wolves into the post-season.

Their playoff run ended in four games, however, as the Barrie Colts won the series 4–0.

The subsequent season saw Smith's departure from the junior leagues when he split the season between the Lexington Men O' War of the ECHL and the Utah Grizzlies of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Smith also played for the Lexington Men O'War of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) in 2002–03.

Smith made his professional debut on October 26, 2002, against the Dayton Bombers, scoring a statistically unlikely goal during a shutout in his first win, scoring on an empty net at 19:04 in the third period.

Smith is the youngest goaltender ever to score in a professional game, doing so at 20 years of age.

Smith played only 11 games in Utah, backing up Jason Bacashihua and Corey Hirsch.

For 2003–04, Utah added Dan Ellis to their roster, with whom Smith split back up duties, again to Bacashihua.

Smith went to play for the Houston Aeros in 2004–05, sharing the net almost equally with Josh Harding, putting up a 0.915 save percentage and 2.42 GAA.

Smith joined the Iowa Stars for their inaugural season in 2005–06.

The Stars played Smith and Dan Ellis back and forth for much of the season until Smith appeared to take much of the netminding responsibilities late in the season.

A Stars rally in the stretch secured the final Western Conference playoff spot.

Smith started in every game of the seven-game series against the Milwaukee Admirals, which Milwaukee ultimately won.

Smith underwent shoulder surgery during the off-season for an injury he sustained during Iowa's 2005–06 season.

After playing five seasons in the minors, Smith had his NHL debut on October 21, 2006, playing for the Dallas Stars against the Arizona Coyotes putting up a 22-save shutout, making him the first goalie in Dallas Stars history to have a shutout in his first NHL game.

Smith was named to the 2006–07 NHL All-Rookie Team.

After a faster-than-expected recovery, Smith attended the Dallas Stars' training camp in the fall of 2006, and was awarded the backup goaltender position behind Marty Turco.

In his first-ever regulation NHL game on October 21, 2006, Smith stopped 22 shots to post a shutout against the Phoenix Coyotes.

On January 4, 2007, Smith was hit in the mask by a slap shot, causing him to miss a few weeks with a concussion.

He came back strong, however, winning two games in which Turco was pulled.

He then registered a 32-save shutout over the Anaheim Ducks on February 10.

Smith also started the year living with Marty Turco's family.

However, he eventually moved out and then signed a two-year, $950,000 per year contract with the Stars.

On June 14, 2007, Smith was named to the 2006–07 NHL All-Rookie Team.

On February 26, 2008, Smith was traded, along with Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern and a fourth round draft pick in 2009, to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist.

Smith made his Lightning debut the following night against the Minnesota Wild, stopping 24 of 27 shots in a 3–2 loss.

On March 15, Smith recorded a 3–0 shutout victory over the New York Rangers.

He became only the third rookie goaltender in NHL history to record a shutout for two different teams in the same season, and the first to do so in 79 years.

Smith recorded 14 wins for the Lightning during the 2008–09 season before suffering a concussion that kept him out of action for the remainder of the season.

On February 2, 2011, the Lightning placed Smith on waivers, where he cleared the next day and was subsequently assigned to the Lightning's AHL affiliate, the Norfolk Admirals.

Smith is the 11th goaltender in NHL history to score a goal, which he did in the 2013–14 season against the Detroit Red Wings.

A two-time NHL All-Star (2017, 2018), he was named to the 2014 Canadian Olympic Hockey Team, winning a gold medal at the 2014 Winter Olympics.