Smith not only earned a shutout for Lexington in his East Coast Hockey League debut Oct. 26, 2002, he also scored a goal, firing a puck the length of the ice into an empty net.

Eleven years later he did it again. On Oct. 19, 2013, Smith ended a 5-2 victory for the Phoenix Coyotes against the Detroit Red Wings when he scored into an empty net.

Selected by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round (No. 161) of the 2001 NHL Draft, Smith bounced around the minor leagues, playing with Utah, Houston and Iowa in the American Hockey League. He enjoyed a breakthrough season with Iowa in 2005-06 by going 25-19-6 with a 2.50 goals-against average and.917 save percentage. On March 3, 2006, Smith tied the AHL record for goalies with three assists in a game and finished the season with a league-leading six assists.

Selected by the Dallas Stars in the fifth round (No. 161) of the 2001 NHL Draft, Smith bounced around the minor leagues, playing with Utah, Houston and Iowa in the American Hockey League. He enjoyed a breakthrough season with Iowa in 2005-06 by going 25-19-6 with a 2.50 goals-against average and.917 save percentage. On March 3, 2006, Smith tied the AHL record for goalies with three assists in a game and finished the season with a league-leading six assists.

Smith helped Canada to a first-place finish at the 2015 IIHF World Championship with a 1.50 goals-against average and .930 save percentage in eight games. He earned the backup job to Marty Turco with the Stars out of training camp in 2006-07 and had a 22-save shutout against the Coyotes on Oct. 21, 2006 to become the first goalie in Stars history to have a shutout in his first NHL game. Smith was named to the 2006-07 NHL All-Rookie Team.

On Feb. 26, 2008, Smith was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning, and in his debut the next night made 24 saves in a 3-2 loss to the Minnesota Wild. Smith shut out the New York Rangers 3-0 on March 15, 2008, to earn a shutout with two teams in his rookie season.

The Coyotes signed Smith as a free agent July 1, 2011. On April 3, 2012, he made 54 saves in a 2-0 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets. He won 38 games and finished fourth in Vezina Trophy voting. He had a .944 save percentage in the Stanley Cup Playoffs to help the Coyotes reached the Western Conference Final for the first time in franchise history.

Smith won a gold medal with Canada at the 2014 Sochi Olympics. He played three more seasons for the Coyotes and was traded to the Calgary Flames on June 17, 2017. He played his 500th NHL game Dec. 19, 2017, making him the 11th active goalie to reach the milestone, and was named an injury replacement for Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick to play in the 2018 Honda NHL All-Star Game.

Smith signed a one-year contract with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1, 2019. He made 29 sames to help the Oilers to a 2-0 win against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 7 of the 2022 Western Conference First Round, the second goalie in team history with a Game 7 shutout (Curtis Joseph, 1998 Western Conference Quarterfinals against Colorado Avalanche). At age 40 years, 52 days, Smith became the oldest goalie in NHL history with a shutout in his Game 7 debut. Dwayne Roloson (41 years, 197 days) made 36 saves for the Lightning to defeat the Pittsburgh Penguins 1-0 in the 2011 Eastern Conference Quarterfinals, when Smith was his backup.

NOTES & TRANSACTIONS

• NHL All-Rookie Team (2007)
• Played in NHL All-Star Game (2017, 2018)
• Traded to Tampa Bay by Dallas with Jussi Jokinen, Jeff Halpern and Dallas' 4th round pick (later traded to Minnesota, later traded to Edmonton - Edmonton selected Kyle Bigos) in 2009 NHL Draft for Brad Richards and Johan Holmqvist, February 26, 2008.
• Signed as a free agent by Phoenix, July 1, 2011.
• Traded to Calgary by Arizona for Chad Johnson, Brandon Hickey and a conditional 3rd round pick in 2018 NHL Draft, June 17, 2017.
• Signed as a free agent by Edmonton, July 1, 2019.