Former Maple Leafs Defenseman and 1000-Game NHL Veteran Finds New Career Path

The Edmonton Oil Kings of the WHL have officially announced that they will be bringing in former Toronto Maple Leafs defenseman Jason Smith as their 6th head coach in modern franchise history.

Smith enjoyed a lengthy career that saw him partake in 1,008 regular season games across 15 seasons with New Jersey, Toronto, Edmonton, Philadelphia, and Ottawa. He played in an additional 68 playoff games across 7 post-season runs.

Smith finished his playing career at the end of the 2008-09 season before jumping into the coaching realm with the Senators as an assistant coach during the 2014-15 and 2015-16 seasons.

He was then named head coach of the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL, a position he held between 2016 to 2019, before one season as an associate head coach for Prince George Cougars in 2019-20.

After the COVID-19 pause, Smith then joined the Philadelphia Flyers AHL affiliate, the Lehigh Valley Phantoms, as an assistant coach, which was a position he held for the past 4 seasons.

With experience behind the bench at the NHL, AHL, and WHL level, at all different positions, the Oil Kings felt Smith was the right man for the job, where he will be responsible for coaching Leafs prospect Miroslav Holinka, who recently signed his 3-year entry-level contract.

Smith was originally drafted by the Devils before he was moved to Toronto in a blockbuster trade in 1997. He was traded alongside Steve Sullivan and the rights to Alyn McCauley for Doug Gilmour, Dave Ellet, and a 4th round pick.

Smith spent parts of 3 seasons in Toronto where he scored 34 points in 162 games to go alongside 156 PIMs. He later became the captain for both the Oilers and the Flyers before retiring in 2009 as a member of the Senators.