Gator

News that Jason Smith has retired today.Smith is one of my alltime favourite Oilers. He personified those young clubs that had a ton of heart and grit. He was a banger and a shot blocker and yet in seven plus years with Edmonton he missed a total of forty four games, never more than fourteen in a season. He was beyond tough.Plus he had an awesome nickname.So respected was he that when he went to the Flyers they named him their captain immediately. That spring he reportedly played through two separated shoulders in the playoffs.Last year I watched an Ottawa game and when Kaleta, a Sabres pest, took a run at Alfredsson, Smith immediately moved in. The kid turned his back at the last minute and Smith showed his respect for the game by slowing up and actually cradling his opponent to the ice slowly rather than driving him into the boards dangerously.Then he beat the **** out of him.I saw a YouTube video of Smith a couple of years back and at one point an opponent was yapping and Smith s...