Richard Allan Smith (born June 29, 1948) is a Canadian former professional

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 hock ...

player. He played from 1968 until 1981 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) and the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

(WHA). He won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli intensity of X (''Extrem ...

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 ...

Playing career

Smith was originally drafted by the

in the second round (7th overall) in the

1966 NHL Amateur Draft The 1966 NHL Amateur Draft was the fourth NHL Entry Draft. It held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. Selections by round Listed below are the selections in the 1966 NHL amateur draft. Round one Round two Round three Round ...

. He played in Boston from 1968–69 to 1971–72. Boston traded him in 1972 to the

California Golden Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The S ...

of the NHL. He played there until the end of the next season ( 1972–73) when he left the NHL for the

(WHA) and played for the

Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 19 ...

. In 1975–76 Smith returned to the NHL to play for the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the s ...

. He would remain with the Blues until the

1976–77 NHL season The 1976–77 NHL season was the 60th season of the National Hockey League. The Kansas City Scouts moved to Denver, Colorado, and became the Colorado Rockies and the California Golden Seals moved to Cleveland, Ohio, and became the Cleveland Baron ...

when he returned to the Boston Bruins. In

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

Rick Smith would leave Boston to play one more NHL season split between the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

(11 games) and 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 (NHL) ...

(40 games). He won the

with the

. 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.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

External links

*
Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com

Picture of Rick Smith's name on the 1970 Stanley Cup plaque
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Rick 1948 births Living people Boston Bruins draft picks Boston Bruins players California Golden Seals players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Detroit Red Wings players Hamilton Red Wings (OHA) players Kansas City Blues (ice hockey) players Minnesota Fighting Saints players Oklahoma City Blazers (1965–1977) players Ice hockey people from Kingston, Ontario St. Louis Blues players Stanley Cup champions Washington Capitals players