Craig Smith (born September 5, 1989) is an American

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

player, currently playing for the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL). He was selected by the

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

in the fourth round, 98th overall, of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

Smith played major junior hockey in the

United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the midwestern United States, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. The USHL is strictl ...

(USHL) with the

Waterloo Black Hawks The Waterloo Black Hawks are a Tier I junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL) under president and general manager P.K. O'Handley. The Black Hawks' home ice is the Young Arena in Waterl ...

. He was named to the USHL First All-Star Team for the 2008–09 season. Smith participated at the 2011 IIHF World Championship as a member of the

United States men's national ice hockey team The United States men's national ice hockey team is based in Colorado Springs, Colorado, Colorado Springs, Colorado, with its USA Hockey National Team Development Program, U18 and U17 development program in Plymouth, Michigan, Plymouth, Michiga ...

. He then went on to play two years at the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, ...

for the Badgers ice hockey team. After coming out of college early, Smith became the first player since

Colin Wilson Colin Henry Wilson (26 June 1931 – 5 December 2013) was an English writer, philosopher and novelist. He also wrote widely on true crime, mysticism and the paranormal, eventually writing more than a hundred books. Wilson called his phil ...

to make the Predators without first playing for the team's

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) affiliate, which at the time was the

Milwaukee Admirals The Milwaukee Admirals are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). They play in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, United States, at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee Panther Arena. They are affiliated with the NHL's Nashvil ...

. On October 7, 2011, in a game against the

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ...

, 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 A restricted free agent (RFA) is a type of free agent in the National Football League (NFL), National Hockey League (NHL), or National Basketball Association (NBA). Such players have special restrictions on the terms under which they can retain ...

to retain his NHL rights and, on July 5, 2015, Smith filed for Salary Arbitration. On July 20, prior to his scheduled meeting, Smith entered into a new five-year, $21.25 million contract with the Predators. 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 The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

. On May 19, 2021, Smith scored the Game 3 double overtime winner for the Bruins against the

, 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 Alexander Mikhailovich Ovechkin ( rus, Александр Михайлович Овечкин, p=ɐlʲɪˈksandr ɐˈvʲetɕkʲɪn; born 17 September 1985) is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capital ...

controversially scolded him in Russian after the game ended. 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 Dmitry Orlov may refer to: * Dmitry Orlov (banker) (1943–2014), Russian banker * Dmitry Orlov (ice hockey) (born 1991), Russian professional ice hockey player * Dmitry Orlov (writer) (born 1962), Russian-American engineer and a writer * Dmitri ...

Personal

Smith graduated from La Follette High School in

Madison, Wisconsin Madison is the county seat of Dane County and the capital city of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. As of the 2020 census the population was 269,840, making it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 80th-lar ...

.Madison.com, by Andy Baggot, October 31, 2006, retrieved May 26, 2020
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Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and honors

References

External links

* 1989 births Living people American men's ice hockey forwards Boston Bruins players KalPa players Milwaukee Admirals players Nashville Predators draft picks Nashville Predators players Washington Capitals players Waterloo Black Hawks players Wisconsin Badgers men's ice hockey players Sportspeople from Madison, Wisconsin Ice hockey players from Wisconsin {{US-icehockey-player-stub