Playing career
After 3 successful seasons with the Hamilton red wings Smith was originally drafted by the Boston Bruins in the second round (7th overall) in the 1966 NHL Amateur Draft. He played in Boston from 1968–69 to 1971–72. Boston traded him, along with Reggie Leach and Bob Stewart for Carol Vadnais and Don O'Donoghue in February 1972 to the California Golden Seals of the NHL. [1] He played there until the end of the next season (1972–73) when he left the NHL for the World Hockey Association (WHA) and played for the Minnesota Fighting Saints. In 1975–76 Smith returned to the NHL to play for the St. Louis Blues. He would remain with the Blues until the 1976–77 NHL season when he returned to the Boston Bruins. In 1980 Rick Smith would leave Boston to play one more NHL season split between the Detroit Red Wings (11 games) and the Washington Capitals (40 games). He won the Stanley Cup with the Boston Bruins in 1970. 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 the 1974 WHA All-Star Game. As well as getting to represent team Canada in the 1974 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 coach Don 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 at Fenway Park. [3]
In 2023 he would be named one of the top 100 Bruins players of all time. [5]
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