| Rick Smith | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born | (1948-06-29)June 29, 1948 (age 77) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Boston Bruins California Golden Seals Minnesota Fighting Saints (WHA) St. Louis Blues Detroit Red Wings Washington Capitals | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| NHL draft | 7th overall,1966 Boston Bruins | ||
| Playing career | 1968–1981 | ||
Richard Allan Smith (born June 29, 1948) is a Canadian former professionalice hockey player. He played from 1968 until 1981 in theNational Hockey League (NHL) and theWorld Hockey Association (WHA). He won theStanley Cup in1970 with theBoston Bruins.
After 3 successful seasons with theHamilton red wings Smith was originally drafted by theBoston Bruins in the second round (7th overall) in the1966 NHL Amateur Draft. He played in Boston from1968–69 to1971–72. Boston traded him, along withReggie Leach andBob Stewart forCarol Vadnais andDon O'Donoghue in February 1972 to theCalifornia Golden Seals of the NHL.[1] He played there until the end of the next season (1972–73) when he left the NHL for theWorld Hockey Association (WHA) and played for theMinnesota Fighting Saints. In1975–76 Smith returned to the NHL to play for theSt. Louis Blues. He would remain with the Blues until the1976–77 NHL season when he returned to the Boston Bruins. In1980 Rick Smith would leave Boston to play one more NHL season split between theDetroit Red Wings (11 games) and theWashington Capitals (40 games). He won theStanley Cup with theBoston Bruins in1970. Rick Smith was a steady defenseman, not a scorer but a reliable part of talented teams. An important part of winning Bruin teams who worked hard in every game he participated in. He provided a solid balance to a team built around Bobby Orr’s brilliance.
During his time in the WHA Smith would see some great success as he would have back to back career high 38 point seasons in both 1973-74 and 1974-75. This resulted in him being named to the1974 WHA All-Star Game. As well as getting to represent team Canada in the1974 summit series appearing in 7 out of the 8 games.
During his second stint with the Bruins he would continue to be a reliable defenseman having his best statistical NHL season in 1977-78 with 36 points. Being of one the steadiest defensemen of his era Bruins coachDon Cherry would repeatedly call Smith “a defenseman's defenseman”.[2]
Post retirement
After 687 games in the NHL and 200 in the WHA Smith finally retired in 1981, he would then put his full attention on earning his master's degree in computer science. He would up buy 25 acres of property on Buck Lake. Then putting his degree to use to teach University staff how to use computers.[2]
Smith Returned to Kingston, Ontario, after his retirement he has taken part in numerous Old-Timers hockey games to benefit charitable causes.[3]
Smith has also shared his career experiences with hockey fans across North America. Traveling with the Cup to Afghanistan to visit Canadian troops in 2007 it was the first time the Cup had been taken to a war zone.[4]
In 2010 he would return to Boston to play in the Bruins Legends Classic outdoor game atFenway Park.[3]
In 2023 he would be named one of the top 100 Bruins players of all time.[5]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1965–66 | Hamilton Red Wings | OHA | 47 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Hamilton Red Wings | OHA | 48 | 2 | 17 | 19 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Hamilton Red Wings | OHA | 49 | 5 | 36 | 41 | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 29 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1968–69 | Oklahoma City Blazers | CHL | 19 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 69 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 65 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 17 | ||
| 1970–71 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 67 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 44 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1971–72 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 61 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 64 | 9 | 24 | 33 | 77 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 71 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 98 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 22 | ||
| 1974–75 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 78 | 9 | 29 | 38 | 112 | 12 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 1975–76 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 24 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 18 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1975–76 | Minnesota Fighting Saints | WHA | 51 | 1 | 32 | 33 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Kansas City Blues | CHL | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 18 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 46 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 30 | 14 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 14 | ||
| 1977–78 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 79 | 7 | 29 | 36 | 69 | 15 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 18 | ||
| 1978–79 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 65 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 46 | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 1979–80 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 62 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 40 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| WHA totals | 200 | 20 | 89 | 109 | 260 | 23 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 28 | ||||
| NHL totals | 687 | 52 | 167 | 219 | 560 | 78 | 3 | 23 | 26 | 73 | ||||