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Clinton James "Snuffy" Smith (December 12, 1913 – May 19, 2009) was a
Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...
professional
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
and
head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
best known for his time spent in the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) as a player with the
New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
and the
Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
. Following Smith's 10-year NHL career, he served as both a head coach and player in the
United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...
(USHL) and
American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
(AHL).


Playing career


Minor leagues (1932–1937)

Before beginning his NHL career with the
New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
in 1936–37, Smith played in several minor professional leagues. After splitting his first professional season in 1932–33 with the
Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were two separate minor professional ice hockey franchises, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The original Indians were founding members of the American Hockey Leagu ...
of the
Canadian-American Hockey League Canadian Americans () are American citizens or in some uses residents whose ancestry is wholly or partly Canadian, or citizens of either country who hold dual citizenship. Today, many Canadian Americans hold both US and Canadian citizenship. T ...
(CAHL) and Saskatoon Crescents of the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL), Smith moved further west to play for the Vancouver Lions of the North West Hockey League (NWHL), where he led the league in scoring with 25 goals in his rookie year. He then went on to lead the league in points the next two seasons with 44- and 53-point campaigns. In 1936–37, Smith joined the International-American Hockey League (I-AHL), precursor to the American Hockey League (AHL), and finished second in league scoring to
Jack Markle John Arthur Markle (May 15, 1907 – June 25, 1956) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played eight games in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1935–36 season. The rest of his career, which lasted ...
with 54 points as a member of the
Philadelphia Ramblers The Philadelphia Ramblers were a minor professional ice hockey team based in the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Ramblers played for six seasons during the infancy of the American Hockey League from 1935 to 1941. Histor ...
. He helped lead his team to the Finals of the inaugural
Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League (AHL). It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In it ...
championship but lost to the Syracuse Stars in four games of what was a five-game series.


New York Rangers (1937–1943)

Smith began his NHL career with the Rangers with a short 2-game stint in , during which he notched his first NHL career goal. He quickly became an integral player on the Rangers roster, leading the team in scoring in his second full NHL season in with 41 points. Going the length of the campaign with just one minor penalty, he was also awarded the Lady Byng Trophy, his first of two in his career. The following season, he helped lead the Rangers to the Stanley Cup championship, defeating the
Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
in six games (the win was the Rangers' last before their 54-year Cup drought, ending in
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
). Despite winning the Stanley Cup that year, however, Smith's production began to tail off with the Rangers, scoring only 24 points that championship year. Despite improving to 33 points in , Smith ended his 6-year tenure with the Rangers following that season.


Chicago Black Hawks (1943–1947)

Joining the
Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
in 1943–44, Smith rejuvenated his career playing on a line with future fellow
Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...
rs, Bill Mosienko and
Doug Bentley Douglas Wagner Bentley (September 3, 1916 – November 24, 1972) was a Canadian ice hockey left winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers as part of a senior and professio ...
. He recorded 23 goals and established an NHL record for single-season assists with 49 (broken the following season by
Elmer Lach Elmer James Lach ( , January 22, 1918 – April 4, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 14 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). A Centre (ice hockey), centre, he was a member of the Pun ...
of the
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
) for an NHL career-high 72 points. The combined total of Mosienko, Bentley, and Smith's points that season also set an NHL record for a line with 219. Smith's record-setting season was complemented by a second Lady Byng Trophy, having only accumulated 4 penalty minutes. The following season, in 1944–45, Smith succeeded Bentley Smith set another NHL record with a four-goal period against the Montreal Canadiens on March 4, 1945 (Smith shares the record with several other players). The remainder of Smith's four-season stay in Chicago was not met with as much offensive success as his initial campaign with the team, but he did, however, record three straight 20-goal seasons, including a personal best 26-goal season in 1945–46. After his production dipped to 26 points in 1946–47, he retired from the NHL.


Coaching in the minors (1947–1952)

Smith returned to the minor leagues in 1947–48, joining the short-lived
United States Hockey League The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...
(USHL) with the Tulsa Oilers. He led Tulsa in scoring with 71 points in his only season while also serving as the team's
head coach A head coach, senior coach, or manager is a professional responsible for training and developing athletes within a sports team. This role often has a higher public profile and salary than other coaching positions. In some sports, such as associat ...
. Finishing in the top ten in league scoring, he won the Herman W. Paterson Cup as league MVP. The following season, he also did double duty playing and coaching in St. Paul Saints, where he played for three seasons. In 1951–52, Smith joined the Cincinnati Mohawks of the AHL, coaching them to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs and playing in a limited role, appearing in just 2 games. Smith retired following his one-season stint with the Mohawks both as a coach and player.


Retirement

Following Smith's retirement, he returned to
Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...
, where he competed in the NWHL to play oldtimers hockey. He made his residence there and became a founding member of the British Columbia Hockey Benevolent Association, also known as the Canucks Alumni, and at one point held the position of president. Thirty-nine years following his professional retirement, Smith was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...
in 1991. At the time of his death on June 15, 2008, Ray Getliffe, a
left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...
who played for the
Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
and
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
was said to be the oldest living person to have played in the NHL. Later, it was reported that Smith was the oldest living person to have ever played in the NHL. Both these reports, however, overlooked players who had only played a limited number of games, such as Louis Holmes and Al Suomi. Getliffe, who died at the age of 94, was just several months younger than Smith at the time of his death, while Holmes and Suomi were 97 and 95, respectively at that time. On May 19, 2009, Smith died at the age of 95, leaving Suomi as the oldest living NHL player, at the current age of 99. He was the last surviving member of Rangers 1940 Stanley Cup team. In the 2009 book ''100 Ranger Greats'', the authors ranked Smith at No. 35 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.


Awards

*Won the Lady Byng Trophy in
1939 This year also marks the start of the World War II, Second World War, the largest and deadliest conflict in human history. Events Events related to World War II have a "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 ** Coming into effect in Nazi Ger ...
and
1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
. *Won a
Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...
with the
New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...
in
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, events related to World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *Janu ...
. *Won the Herman W. Paterson Cup as
USHL The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...
MVP in 1948.


Career statistics


Coaching statistics


See also

*
Captain (ice hockey) In ice hockey, the captain is the player designated by a team as the only person authorized to speak with the game officials regarding rule interpretations when the captain is on the ice. At most levels of play each team must designate one captai ...


References


External links

*
"Hall of Famer Clint Smith dies at age 95," New York Rangers, Thursday, May 21, 2009.


{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Clint 1913 births 2009 deaths Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Blackhawks captains Chicago Blackhawks players Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winners New York Rangers players Springfield Indians players Stanley Cup champions 20th-century Canadian sportsmen