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Calgary Flames 55 Days Until the Season Starts: #55 Steve Smith

By Ramina Shlah

BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 03: Assistant Coach Steve Smith (L) and Head Coach Tom Renney (R) of the Edmonton Oilers watch the action during the Oilers 4-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center on January 3, 2012 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images)
BUFFALO, NY - JANUARY 03: Assistant Coach Steve Smith (L) and Head Coach Tom Renney (R) of the Edmonton Oilers watch the action during the Oilers 4-3 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at First Niagara Center on January 3, 2012 in Buffalo, New York. (Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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With 55 days left until the regular season starts up again, let’s take a look at a former Calgary Flames player with that number.

Since the start of August, we’re counting down the number of days left until the regular season starts up again! Everyday until the start of the season, we’ll be talking about a Calgary Flames player whose number correlates with how many days there are left.

We missed yesterday because we’re bad people. But with 57 days left, we talked about a fun guy named Steve Begin! Let’s continue the trend of retired players. And players named Steve.

With 55 days until the regular season starts, let’s talk about #55 Steve Smith.

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Who is Steve Smith?

Name: James Stephen Smith

Birth place: Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Position: D

Shoots: Left

Birthdate: 1963-04-30

Height: 6’3” / 191 cm

Weight: 95 kg / 210 lbs

Drafted by: Edmonton Oilers, 111th overall 1981

Stats with all NHL teams, regular season:

Ooh, a player who has played for both Edmonton and Calgary? He may not be a fan favourite here in YYC.. or was he? We’ll talk about that later.

Defenceman Steve Smith was drafted by the Edmonton Oilers in 1981 but didn’t play in his first NHL game until 1984-85 (but played in just two games). In the 1956-86 season, he played in his first rookie season. That was definitely a season to remember.

This was an intense rivalry between the Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers. We all know about the infamous Battle of Alberta, but it was in the 80s when it was really prominent. These two teams HATED eachother. So a series between the two of them? You know it’s going to be a good one.

The Flames and Oilers were facing eachother in the Smythe Division Final. It was game 7. It’s a tie game and a little over 14 minutes left. It was also Smith’s birthday.

In an attempt to clear the zone, the Oilers rookie accidentally scored on his own net.

Ouch.

This would cost the Oilers the game, the series, and potentially a Cup. Calgary made it to the finals that season (but lost). For the next few years, every time the Oilers would play in Calgary, whenever Smith had the puck, Flames fans would yell “Shooooot!” We actually did a whole Throwback Thursday on this incident if you’d like to read more about that here.

Related Story: Flames Throwback Thursday: Steve Smith Own Goal Game 7

It’s ok, we don’t have to feel TOO bad for Smith. He went on to win three Stanley Cups with the Oilers. One was the following season, too.

As we saw with his stats above, Smith has played for three NHL teams, including Calgary. Yes, Calgary! I’m sure Flames fans gave him a warm welcome.

After playing with the Chicago Blackhawks, Smith announced his retirement in 1997 because of injuries. Smith went on to be an assistant coach with the Flames for 1997-98 and realized that he wasn’t finished playing hockey yet. He came back and played with the Flames the following season for three more seasons, but then finally called it quits and hung up his skates in 2000.

Smith is now an assistant coach with the Carolina Hurricanes.

Next: Flames Throwback Thursday - Dion Phaneuf/Matt Stajan Trade

Hey Smith, if you ever decide to play in the NHL again, Flames fans would sure love it!

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