Top 100 Oilers: No. 24 — Steve Smith

Notable

Fans blamed Smith to the nth degree for the own goal, but Wayne Gretzky never bought that narrative, later writing in his autobiography that it was a “total cop-out.” After the clock ticked down in Game 7 of the 1987 Stanley Cup final, and the Oilers reclaimed Lord Stanley’s mug on home ice, Gretzky received the trophy from president John Ziegler. The Oilers captain was quick to hoist it, but equally quick to pass it on to the next man: Steve Smith himself.

With the monkey off his back, Smith, who was drafted by the team in the sixth round of the 1981 draft, would go on to make the 1987-88 season, his third in the league, his most memorable, setting then career highs in goals, assists, points and penalty minutes, with 12, 43, 55, and 286, respectively.

Smith made a name for himself beyond the early-career faux pas, never letting it define the rest of his career.

The Story

Smith became much more than just the guy who scored on himself, as he shed his tough, shutdown moniker and found an offensive side to his game. He became a go-to-guy for Glen Sather, and would lead Oilers defencemen in scoring in three of the first four seasons in the post-Paul Coffey era.

He remained in Edmonton until an October 1991 trade that returned Dave Manson , and a third-round pick later used to select Kirk Maltby. After seven years in Edmonton, he would spend six in Chicago, where his strong offensive game continued for two years. In 1998, he would sign as a free agent with the Calgary Flames, spending three years down the highway from where he cut his NHL chops, retiring after playing just 13 games in the 2000-01 season.

What Brownlee said

Steve Smith was a helluva defenseman with the Edmonton Oilers during a tenure that would see him sip from the Stanley Cup three times with the Boys on the Bus. Of that, there is no debate. What Smith has always been remembered for, though, is the moment he banked a clearing attempt off the skate of goaltender Grant Fuhr and into his own net in Game 7 of the 1986 Smythe Division final against the hated Calgary Flames.

In the aftermath of the stunning faux pas that put the Flames up 3-2 for good with 14:46 to play in the third period and ended a bid for Edmonton’s third straight Stanley Cup, there was Smith sprawled face down on the ice as a stunned crowd looked on. Later, tears in the dressing room. The big rookie was inconsolable. While it is the one single moment Smith, to this day, is best known for, it didn’t define him. Not nearly.

The Last 10

• No. 34 — Taylor Hall
• No. 33 — Curtis Joseph
• No. 32 — Dave Semenko
• No. 31 — Dave Hunter
• No. 30 — Dave Lumley
• No. 29 — Sam Gagner
• No. 28 — Jordan Eberle
• No. 27 — Jason Smith
• No. 26 — Zach Hyman
• No. 25 — Andy Moog