Background
Smith was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and raised in Avon, Connecticut.
Smith was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina and raised in Avon, Connecticut.
Smith graduated from Westminster School (Connecticut) in 2006.
Smith was drafted by the Chicago Blackhawks 169th overall in the sixth round of the 2008 National Hockey League Entry Draft. He played four seasons at Boston College. On October 29, 2010 the Blackhawks recalled Smith from the AHL"s Rockford IceHogs to make his National Hockey League debut in a home game against the Edmonton Oilers.
He scored his first National Hockey League goal on April 8, 2011 against Jimmy Howard of the Detroit Red Wings.
On April 15, 2011, Smith scored 2 goals against the Vancouver Canucks in a 4–3 loss in only his second National Hockey League playoff game. On Sunday, April 24, 2011, during Game 6 of the Western Conference quarterfinals, Smith scored the overtime goal on a rebound against the Vancouver Canucks" goaltender, Roberto Luongo, to force a Game 7 in Vancouver after the Canucks had previously been leading the series 3–0.
The Blackhawks ended up losing Game 7 in overtime. On June 27, 2014, the Blackhawks signed him to a two-year contract extension.
On March 2, 2015, Smith was traded by the Blackhawks to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Andrew Desjardins.
He scored his first goal with the Sharks the same day in their shutout game against the Montreal Canadiens. On February 27th, 2016, Smith, Alex Stalock and a conditional 4th round pick in 2018 were traded by the Sharks to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for James Reimer, Jeremy Morin.