Craig Smith

BIOGRAPHY

Craig Smith was born on September 5th, 1989 in Madison, Wisconsin. He is a centre in the National Hockey League.

Smith was selected by the Nashville Predators in the fourth round, 98th overall, of the 2009 NHL Entry Draft. After coming out of college early, Smith became the first player since Colin Wilson to make the Predators without first playing for the team's American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, which at the time was the Milwaukee Admirals. On October 7, 2011, in a game against the Columbus Blue Jackets, 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 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. On May 19, 2021, Smith scored the Game 3 double overtime winner for the Bruins against the Washington Capitals, 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 controversially scolded him in Russian after the game ended. The Bruins then went on to win the series against the Capitals in five games.