NHL News: 14-Year Veteran Forward Announces Retirement

The five-time 20-goal scorer wound down his career with a bottom-six depth role split between two teams, but now, at the age of 36, it's time for Wisconsin native Craig Smith to officially hang up the skates.

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— Magnuson Hockey Agency (@Magnusonhockey) December 8, 2025

The Magnuson Hockey Agency, who represented Smith, made the announcement. Smith's humble statement focused on stating how lucky he was to have the career that he had.

“I’ll start by saying how grateful I am that it even happened in the first place,” Smith wrote. “It was a dream come true. I’ve wanted to become a hockey player ever since I can remember. I will forever be grateful for the memories with my teammates, coaches, trainers and equipment staff, General Managers, and, most importantly, the fans. This league gave me an opportunity to change my place in life. For that, I’m forever grateful.

“To my teammates — I wanted nothing more than to give you all I had, every night. I’m so grateful for the lifelong friendships I’ve made throughout the years. I’ll miss the locker room dearly.”

Smith finished just short of the 1,000-game mark, having played in 987 games in the NHL, recording 452 points on 220 goals and 232 assists. He also appeared in 83 Stanley Cup playoff games, notching 23 points.

He was a fourth-round selection of the Nashville Predators in the 2009 draft, and spent the first nine years of his career there, recording all five of his 20+ goal seasons, and making an appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals in 2017.

He continued to be a nice secondary scoring option for a couple of seasons in Boston with the Bruins, before wrapping up the final two years of his career playing for four different teams, the Washington Capitals, Dallas Stars, Chicago Blackhawks and Detroit Red Wings.

Congrats to Smith for a great career.