Neil Smith (ice hockey)
Neil Smith (born January 9, 1955 in Toronto, Ontario) was the general manager of the New York Islanders until he was unexpectedly relieved of his duties on July 18, 2006 after only 40 days. He was previously the general manager of the New York Rangers from 1989-2000.
Early Career
Smith played junior hockey before attending Western Michigan University. As a freshman, he was selected to the All-American team as a defenseman, and was named team captain his sophomore season. He was drafted by the New York Islanders, spending several seasons in the minor leagues before working for the organization as a talent scout. He moved on to the Detroit Red Wings, where he won 2 Calder Cup championships as the General Manager of the team's minor league affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings.
Success with the New York Rangers
Smith was hired by the Rangers to be their General Manager, inheriting a young team that included future stars Brian Leetch, Mike Richter, Mike Gartner, and Tony Amonte. He quickly made his mark with a blockbuster trade for superstar Mark Messier. Over the next three seasons, Smith shaped the team through trades and free-agent signings, acquiring several players from the Edmonton Oilers dynasty of the 1980s. Messier become one of the most popular athletes in New York, winning the Hart Trophy in 1992, and the Rangers grew into an elite team, twice winning the Presidents Trophy and, in 1994, their long-awaited fourth Stanley Cup championship.
Fall of the Rangers
The next few years would see the team struggle to stay in contention, but, having traded away many of its prospects for the Stanley Cup run, the team had to increasingly rely on aging veterans acquired through expensive free agency. A major dispute between Smith and hard-driving coach Mike Keenan ended when Keenan left for St. Louis after the championship season. Had Keenan stayed, it was widely rumored that broadcaster John Davidson would have replaced Smith as general manager because of his ties to outgoing MSG president Bob Gutkowski. The team signed Wayne Gretzky in 1996, reuniting him with his old teammate Messier. The reunion would last only a year, however, as Messier left amid an acrimonious dispute with the organization. With his departure the Rangers sank into mediocrity; though Smith acquired a succession of veteran players with expensive contracts, including Theoren Fleury and Sylvain Lefebvre, and drafted a host of promising young players, the team continued to underperform and has missed the playoffs every season until the 2005-06 NHL season. Smith's critics derided him for what they called a grocery-shopping approach to team-building; in him they saw a keen eye for talent but an inability to understand how to effectively combine a roster of actual players and personalities and a lack of restraint in acquiring free agents, which they believed delayed the development of the young players the team would need in the future. In 2000 he was fired and replaced with Glen Sather.
Short tenure with the New York Islanders
On June 8, 2006, Smith was introduced as the New York Islanders' general manager. Said Smith of his new job: "Knowing that I'll be working in the same office where one of my mentors, Bill Torrey, created a dynasty is an unbelievable feeling. Al Arbour, whom I owe everything to, gave me my first hockey job as an advance scout. I wear my Islanders Stanley Cup ring with immense pride. To be able to come full circle and return home to the Islanders is a dream." But on July 18, 2006, just a little over a month after Smith took the reins as Islanders GM, he was fired and replaced by backup goalie Garth Snow. The Islanders hadn't play a single game under Smith[1].
Honors
- In 1991, Smith was inducted into the Western Michigan University Hall of Fame.
- 1991-92 Executive of the Year by The Hockey News
- 1993-94 Executive of the Year by The Sporting News
- 1993-94 Stanley Cup Championship (NYR)
References
- ^ "Islanders fire GM Smith, hire Snow". TSN. July 18, 2006. Retrieved July 18, 2006.