Stanley Philip Smyl (born January 28, 1958) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He was selected 40th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft and went on to play his entire NHL career with the team until his retirement in 1991. He featured in the 1982 Stanley Cup Final with the Canucks.
Smyl was born in Glendon, Alberta, but grew up in nearby St. Paul, Alberta. As a junior, he appeared in three consecutive Memorial Cups with the New Westminster Bruins, winning the championship in 1977 and 1978.
Nicknamed "Steamer" by the Bellingham Blazer fans for his relentless and hard-nosed style of play, he served as captain for a team record eight seasons, later tied by Henrik Sedin. He retired as the Canucks' all-time leader in games played, goals, assists and points – all of which have been since surpassed by Henrik and Daniel Sedin. Smyl's number 12 was the first retired number in Canucks' history, as it was raised to the Pacific Coliseum rafters in 1991. It now hangs with Pavel Bure's number 10, Trevor Linden's number 16, Markus Näslund's number 19, Daniel Sedin's number 22, and Henrik Sedin's number 33 at Rogers Arena.
The end of his playing career coincided with the beginning of a 13-year coaching career, serving as an assistant with the Canucks and a head coach with the club's minor league affiliates: the Syracuse Crunch, Kansas City Blades and Manitoba Moose. Upon being let go as coach of the Moose, he was reassigned to the Canucks' front office where he has served as director of player development and director of collegiate scouting, before being appointed role as senior advisor on hockey operations. In December 2021, Smyl briefly served as interim general manager of the Canucks after general manager Jim Benning was relieved of his duties.
Playing career Junior career (1974–78) Smyl played Junior A with the Bellingham Blazers of the British Columbia Junior Hockey League (BCJHL) for one season in 1974–75. Notching 33 points in 25 playoff games, he led the Blazers to a Fred Page Cup title as league champions in a 4–2 win over the Kelowna Buckaroos. Advancing to a best-of-seven series with the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) champions for a berth in the 1975 Royal Bank Cup, the Blazers lost the Pacific regional title to the Spruce Grove Mets.
Following his playoffs with the Blazers, Smyl debuted at the major junior level with the New Westminster Bruins of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). He appeared in three playoff games, being a part of the Bruins franchise's first President's Cup as WCHL champions. Joining the Bruins full-time the following season, Smyl put up 74 points in 72 games as the Bruins captured their second consecutive WCHL title. Earning a berth in the 1976 Memorial Cup, they lost the Canadian major junior title to the Hamilton Fincups.
In 1976–77, New Westminster repeated as President's Cup champions as Smyl posted 66 points in the regular season, then 13 points in 13 playoff games. Returning to the Memorial Cup, the Bruins won their first major junior title in franchise history. Playing in his third and final major junior season, Smyl recorded a WCJHL career high 76 points over 53 games. In the 1978 WCHL playoffs, he notched 35 points in 20 games, capturing his third consecutive President's Cup with the Bruins. At the 1978 Memorial Cup, Smyl was named the tournament MVP and received tournament All-Star Team honours with 14 points in five games. The Bruins became the first team to repeat as Memorial Cup champions in consecutive years as the Bruins won for the second straight year.
Vancouver Canucks Draft to Stanley Cup run (1978–82)
After a decorated season with the New Westminster Bruins, his final year of junior, Smyl was a third round, 40th overall selection in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. Smyl entered the NHL with the Canucks the following season in 1978–79. Playing on a line with fellow rookies Thomas Gradin and Curt Fraser, he scored 14 goals and 38 points over 62 games in his first season. He also proved to be physical, earning 89 penalty minutes as well. As the Canucks qualified for the 1979 playoffs as the final seed, Smyl scored his first NHL post-season goal in game one of the preliminary round against the Philadelphia Flyers. Vancouver won the game 3–2, but went on to lose the best-of-three series in three games. Smyl also played three games for the Central Hockey League's Dallas Black Hawks during the campaign.
Smyl became a point-per-game player in his second NHL season, leading the Canucks in scoring with 31 goals and 78 points over 77 games in 1979–80. In the second half of the season, he registered a team record point-scoring streak that lasted 12 games (five goals and 22 points) between February 7 and March 4, 1980. The streak broke Dennis Kearns' 11-game mark, set three years prior in March 1977. Shortly after the streak ended, he notched his first NHL career hat trick against the goaltender Pat Riggin during a game against the Atlanta Flames on March 7. Nearly a month later, he notched four assists in one game – a 5–0 win against the Edmonton Oilers on April 1, 1980.
The following campaign, Smyl was involved in an on-ice incident during a game against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 17, 1981. During the first period, opposing forward Gary Rissling speared him in the face. Joined by several teammates, Smyl began fighting Rissling. Consequently, Smyl and Rissling both received minor penalties for roughing and major penalties for fighting, while additionally being ejected from the game. A week later, Rissling received a four-game suspension from NHL executive vice president Brian O'Neill. Smyl was not injured on the play and appeared in all 80 games for the Canucks in 1980–81, notching 25 goals and 63 points.
Early in the 1981–82 season, Smyl recorded a five-point game, notching a hat trick and two assists, in an 8–4 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 31, 1981. Late in the campaign, he was named team captain, succeeding defenceman Kevin McCarthy, who had broken his ankle during practice. He went on to complete the campaign with 34 goals and 78 points over 80 games.
Despite finishing the regular season with a losing record, the Canucks embarked on a playoff run to the franchise's first Stanley Cup Final in team history. In the fifth and deciding game of the semi-finals against the Chicago Black Hawks, Smyl notched two goals in a 6–2 win to capture the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl as conference champions, sending the Canucks to the Finals. Facing the New York Islanders, who had finished the regular season 41 points ahead of the Canucks and had won the Stanley Cup the previous two years, they were swept in four games. Smyl scored the Canucks' only goal in their 3–1 defeat in game four, tying the game at 1–1 in the first period on his own rebound before Mike Bossy scored twice to secure the Islanders' win. Smyl accumulated 19 points in 18 playoff games, second in team scoring to Thomas Gradin.
Captaincy and retirement (1982–91) During the subsequent off-season, Canucks general manager Harry Neale appointed Smyl as McCarthy's permanent successor as team captain. The decision was influenced by the Canucks' run to the Finals under Smyl's captaincy. Neale commented, "We reached a tremendous high last spring under Stan as captain and we feel we want to continue that atmosphere." Consequently, McCarthy asked to be traded, but remained with the team for one-and-a-half seasons thereafter until he was dealt to the Pittsburgh Penguins in January 1984.
In his first full season as captain, Smyl recorded career highs with 38 goals and 50 assists. In addition to leading the club in scoring for the second time in his career, his 88 points established a club record (it was broken by Patrik Sundström's 91 points the following season). Late in the campaign, he recorded the most prolific month by a Canucks player in team history with 31 points (10 goals and 21 assists) over 16 games in March 1983. During that span, he reeled off a 13-game point streak from February 27 to March 23 that included eight goals and 27 points. At 13 games, the streak surpassed the previous team record he set in 1980, but was quickly broken by teammate Darcy Rota six days later with a 14-game scoring streak of his own. Smyl, Rota and Gradin formed a high-scoring top line for Vancouver; all three teammates finished among the league's top 30 players in points. Entering the 1983 playoffs, the Canucks attempted to defend their Clarence S. Campbell Bowl of the previous season, but were defeated in four games of a best-of-five series against the Calgary Flames. Smyl helped the Canucks stave off elimination in game three, scoring the game winning goal with 57 seconds to go in regulation, but they were defeated the following game.
The following season in 1983–84, Smyl's production dipped to 67 points. Vancouver met the Flames in the first round of the playoffs for the second consecutive year, losing in four games once more. Smyl and the Canucks would not qualify for the playoffs again for five years. He remained in the 60-point range in the 1984–85 and 1985–86 seasons. On February 27, 1985, Smyl scored his 187th career goal to pass Don Lever as the Canucks' all-time leading goal-scorer.
Late in the 1985–86 season, Smyl suffered torn knee ligaments due to a blindsiding check from opposing forward Alain Côté during the final minute of a 7–6 win against the Quebec Nordiques on March 26, 1987. He was sidelined for the remainder of the campaign. In the off-season, Smyl was re-signed by the Canucks to a multi-year contract in July 1986.
The following season, the Canucks met the Nordiques in a game on October 13, 1986. Smyl fought Côté during the game, but he was consequently sidelined by re-injuring his knee. Upon returning to the lineup, Smyl was involved in an altercation with Montreal Canadiens forward Stéphane Richer that led to a bench-clearing brawl during a game on November 2. After spearing Richer late in the third period, Canadiens forward Claude Lemieux then sucker-punched Smyl in the head on his way to the bench. A total of 139 penalty minutes were assessed to both teams and the Canadiens went on to win the game five–3.
Later in the season, Smyl became the Canucks' all-time leader in regular season games played with 648, passing Harold Snepsts in a game against the Philadelphia Flyers on November 5, 1985. The following month, Smyl became the Canucks all-time points leader on December 14, 1986. Notching his sixth career hat trick against the Chicago Blackhawks, he recorded his 551st career point to pass Thomas Gradin's all-time leading mark of 550. A little over a month later, Smyl was awarded the first and only penalty shot of his NHL career during a game against the Calgary Flames on January 16, 1987. Facing goaltender Mike Vernon, he scored to help the Canucks win 9–5. There was speculation at the trade deadline in March 1987 that Smyl would be traded to a playoff contender, as the Canucks were in the midst of another losing season. Smyl responded by asserting that Vancouver was his home and he had no desire to be dealt away. He finished the campaign with 20 goals and 43 points over 66 games in an injury-shortened season. It marked the lowest points total of his career and the start of a decrease in production in the remaining four seasons before his retirement.