| Craig Smith | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Smith with the Nashville Predators in 2012 | |||
| Born |
September 5, 1989 Madison, Wisconsin, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 202 lb (92 kg; 14 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre / Right wing | ||
| Shoots | Right | ||
| NHL team Former teams |
Dallas Stars Nashville Predators KalPa Boston Bruins Washington Capitals | ||
| National team |
 United States | ||
| NHL Draft |
98th overall, 2009 Nashville Predators | ||
| Playing career | 2011–present | ||
Craig Smith (born September 5, 1989) is an American ice hockey player, currently playing for the Dallas Stars in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round, 98th overall, of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.
Smith played major junior hockey in the United States Hockey League (USHL) with the Waterloo Black Hawks. He was named to the USHL First All-Star Team for the 2008–09 season.[1]
Smith participated at the 2011 IIHF World Championship as a member of the United States men's national ice hockey team. He then went on to play two years at the University of Wisconsin for the Badgers ice hockey team.
After coming out of college early, Smith became the first player since Colin Wilson to make the Predators without first playing for the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, which at the time was the Milwaukee Admirals.[citation needed] On October 7, 2011, in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, Smith made his NHL debut and scored his first NHL goal, which came against Steve Mason.
Following the 2014–15 season, Smith became a restricted free agent under the NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement. The Predators made him a qualifying offer to retain his NHL rights and, on July 5, 2015, Smith filed for Salary Arbitration.[2] On July 20, prior to his scheduled meeting, Smith entered into a new five-year, $21.25 million contract with the Predators.[3]
On September 29, 2020, after nine seasons with Nashville, Smith informed the team that he would not sign a new contract with them and that he would become a free agent. On October 10, he signed a three-year, $9.3 million contract with the Boston Bruins.[4]
On May 19, 2021, Smith scored the Game 3 double overtime winner for the Bruins against the Washington Capitals, giving them a 2-1 series lead in their first round series. He scored the goal when Capitals goalie Ilya Samsonov misplayed the puck behind the net. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin controversially scolded him in Russian after the game ended.[5][6][7] The Bruins then went on to win the series against the Capitals in five games.
On February 23, 2023, Smith (along with 3 draft picks) was traded from the Bruins to the Washington Capitals in exchange for Garnet Hathaway and Dmitry Orlov.[8]
On July 1, 2023, the first day of free agency, Smith signed a one-year, $1 million contract with the Dallas Stars.[9]
 Smith with the United States men's national hockey team in a game against German's men's national hockey team. | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Ice hockey | ||
| Representing United States
| ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
2013 Sweden/Finland | |
| World Junior A Challenge | ||
 |
2008 Camrose | |
|
2007 Trail | |
Smith graduated from La Follette High School in Madison, Wisconsin.[10]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2004–05 | La Follette High School | HS-WI | 20 | 16 | 24 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2005–06 | La Follette High School | HS-WI | 20 | 35 | 26 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2006–07 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 45 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 2007–08 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 58 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 90 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 2008–09 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 54 | 28 | 48 | 76 | 108 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 26 | ||
| 2009–10 | University of Wisconsin | WCHA | 41 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | University of Wisconsin | WCHA | 41 | 19 | 24 | 43 | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 72 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2012–13 | KalPa | SM-l | 8 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 44 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Milwaukee Admirals | AHL | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 79 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 82 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 44 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 82 | 21 | 16 | 37 | 40 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2016–17 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 78 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 30 | 10 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 79 | 25 | 26 | 51 | 24 | 13 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 2018–19 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 76 | 21 | 17 | 38 | 20 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2019–20 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 69 | 18 | 13 | 31 | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2020–21 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 54 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 18 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 2021–22 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 74 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 28 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2022–23 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 42 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2022–23 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 22 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 853 | 200 | 214 | 414 | 328 | 69 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 18 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | United States | WJAC | 
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2009 | United States | WJAC |
|
5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2011 | United States | WC | 8th | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | |
| 2012 | United States | WC | 7th | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | |
| 2013 | United States | WC | 
|
10 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 18 | |
| 2014 | United States | WC | 6th | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 10 | |
| Senior totals | 29 | 10 | 20 | 30 | 34 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| USHL | ||
| All-Star Game | 2009 | |
| First All-Star Team | 2009 | [1] |
| College | ||
| All-WCHA Rookie Team | 2010 | [11] |
