Mike Smith (ice hockey, born 1945)
Michael A. Smith (born 1945 in
(NHL). Since 2003, Smith has worked as a scout and with two companies specializing in hockey analytics.Beginnings in hockey
Smith was born and raised in Potsdam and attended Potsdam Central High School where he was on the hockey team.
NHL years
In 1979, Smith had his first job with the
Smith worked as a scout for the Chicago Blackhawks and assisted the USA Hockey program until August 1997, when Smith was appointed the associate General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Anders Hedberg was also made Personnel Director.[4] A couple of Smith's noteworthy non-player moves during his time with the Leafs were the hiring of Pat Quinn as head coach and managing assistant Mike Kitchen. Despite the 28 point turnaround and franchise record in wins, Smith's contract wasn't renewed.[5]
In December 1999, the Chicago Blackhawks named Smith Manager of Hockey Operations. Nine months later he became the club's seventh GM. Smith had an immediate impact, as the Blackhawks made the playoffs for the first time in five years during the 2001–02 season. He would be the Blackhawks' GM for three years. He was fired by the Hawks in October 2003.[6]
Other hockey activities
In 1999, Smith was inducted into the New York High School Hockey Hall of Fame.[1] In 2006, Smith joined Coleman Analytics to help that company develop and market an analytics package for NHL teams.[7] In 2015, Smith was hired by Bench Metrics to develop a product to help teams apply analytics for teams to use in the NHL Entry Draft.
Achievements
During his tenure with the Winnipeg Jets, Smith acquired
In his first year presiding over the Toronto Maple Leafs, Smith established a franchise record for wins at 45. Many site the omnibus FA signings he made after he was hired during the summer of 1998 which included
Smith was named Executive of the Year by The Sporting News after the 2001–02 season, while with the Blackhawks.[9] Mike Smith drafted several future NHL stars, such as Brent Seabrook, Duncan Keith, Dustin Byfuglien, Alexei Zhamnov, Nikolai Khabibulin, Keith Tkachuk, Kris Draper, Corey Crawford, James Wisniewski, and Stu Barnes.
Criticisms
When it comes to the NHL entry draft, Smith has been perceived as favoring Russian players over the physical style types often seen in the North American junior systems. Smith made some very questionable draft choices during his final three years as Winnipeg Jets GM, drafting Aaron Ward in 1991, ahead of future stars Peter Forsberg, Brian Rolston, and Alexei Kovalev. In 1992, he drafted 25-year-old Sergei Bautin, who had an unremarkable NHL career. In 1993, Smith drafted Mats Lindgren, who also made little impact in the NHL.[10]
Smith was largely responsible for forcing Dale Hawerchuk, the Jets franchise player, out of Winnipeg. Years later, Hawerchuk would state "In my era there were two Winnipegs. There was the John Ferguson era, which was positive, upbeat, a really community-driven team. And then the Mike Smith era, which was negative and pessimistic. That ran through the media. I thought I'd be a Winnipeg Jet forever, but at the end Mike pretty much made it impossible for me to really push forward with my career there."[11]
Smith made some questionable trades that would come back to haunt the Jets. During the Summer of 1993, Smith would send future Olympian, and
Mike Smith was mainly responsible for dismantling a young, and promising Winnipeg Jets team. By the time Smith was relieved of his Managing duties in January 1994, the Jets were last in the Western Conference.[13]
Work with Team USA
Smith has been heavily involved with
Personal life
Smith is widowed after his wife Judith succumbed to cancer in the fall of 2000. The couple had one son, Jason. Smith has authored ten books related to coaching in hockey at the grassroots level and is an avid collector of Native American artwork.
Coaching record
Team | Year | Regular season |
Post season
| |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G | W | L | T | Pts | Finish | Result | ||
Winnipeg Jets | 1980–81 | 23 | 2 | 17 | 4 | (32) | 6th in Smythe | Missed playoffs |
References
- ^ a b "Mike Smith - Potsdam". New York State High School Hockey Coaches Association. Retrieved January 22, 2023.
- ^ a b c d e Morris, Jim (December 4, 1988). "Atypical hockey man new boss of Jets". Ottawa Citizen. p. C4.
- ^ Paine, Neil (October 20, 2016). "Meet The Man Behind The NHL's Russian Revolution". FiveThirtyEight. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- ^ Hornsby, Lance (August 20, 1997). "Smith to join quartet". Financial Post. p. 47.
- ^ "Dryden's the winner on power play". Toronto Star. June 24, 1999. p. 1.
- ^ "Blackhawks fire GM Mike Smith". CBC Sports. October 24, 2003. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
- ^ "NHL cap creates a new class of scouts". www.sportsbusinessdaily.com. Retrieved October 28, 2016.
- ^ "The Pugnacious Domi Is Sent To the Ice Box: Winnipeg". The New York Times. December 29, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
- ^ "Sporting News Executive of the Year past winners | NHL". Sporting News. Archived from the original on June 26, 2015.
- ^ "Busted! The Five Biggest First Round Flops In Winnipeg Jets History". The Hockey Writers. June 24, 2014. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
- ^ "Hawerchuk happy with return". Winnipeg Sun. May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
- ^ "Once traded for $1, Red Wings' Draper retires after 20 seasons". Toronto Star. July 26, 2011. Retrieved June 17, 2015.
- ^ "Winnipeg Jets fire General Manager". Gainesville Sun. January 20, 1994. p. 10.