Brad Smith Brad Smith ( born April 13 , 1958 in Windsor , Ontario ) is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 242 regular - season and play - off games over nine National Hockey League seasons with the Vancouver Canucks , Atlanta Flames , Calgary Flames , Detroit Red Wings , and Toronto Maple Leafs . He was also a member of the Central Hockey League ' s Adams Cup winning Dallas Black Hawks , 1978 – 79 . Described as a heady , defensive forward known for his physical play , Smith led his hometown Windsor Spitfires in scoring with 37 goals and 90 points during his rookie OHA season , 1976 – 77 . The following year he was traded to the Sudbury Wolves for Wes Jarvis . Registering 80 goals and 172 points in 136 OHA games , Smith was selected by Vancouver 57th overall in the 1978 NHL Entry Draft . During his first intrasquad game , he scored twice and got into a fight with Dennis Kearns . Sent to the CHL ' s Dallas Black Hawks where he scored 17 times in 60 games in 1978 – 79 , Smith earned a two - game call - up to the parent club . The following year , 1979 – 80 , he spent 19 games with Vancouver , scoring his first NHL goal , a game - winner , against the Colorado Rockies on December 14 , 1979 . He also played for Vancouver in an international game on December 26 , 1979 during which he led the Canucks to a 6 – 2 victory , scoring twice within 17 seconds ( both slapshots ) against Moscow Dynamo goaltender , Vladimir Myshkin ( who shut out the NHL All Stars the previous year to win the 1979 Challenge Cup for the Soviet National Team before winning Olympic Gold in 1984 ) . On Feb . 8 , 1980 , Smith and Don Lever were traded to Atlanta for Darcy Rota and Ivan Boldirev . Smith played four games for Atlanta before the team relocated for the 1980 – 81 season , where he became an original Calgary Flame . On Dec . 27 , 1980 , Smith scored the game - winning goal on a two - on - nothing , give - and - go breakaway with fellow journeyman Alex McKendry to beat Philadelphia 2 – 1 . In all , Smith scored seven goals over 45 games with Calgary before he was sent down to the Birmingham Bulls of the CHL . There , he registered 11 points in 10 games before the Bulls folded abruptly on Feb . 20 , 1981 . Eight days later , Smith was on the move again , this time to Detroit , where he was traded for Rick Vasko , scoring 5 goals in 20 games for his highest NHL season total of 12 . Splitting the next four years between Detroit and its farm team , Smith was named an American Hockey League All - Star after registering 72 points with the Adirondack Red Wings in 1984 – 85 . Playing the final game of the season with Detroit , Smith scored , then suited up for the play - offs , setting up a goal by John Ogrodnick and fighting Al Secord . After five years in the Detroit organization , Smith then turned down a contract offer to test the free - agent market . Signed instead by Toronto , " Motor City Smitty , " as he was nicknamed by then Leafs ' radio man Bill Waters , enjoyed his most productive years on hockey ' s biggest stage , Maple Leaf Gardens . During the 1985 – 86 season , Smith registered a career NHL high 17 assists to go along with his five goals over 42 games , and was nominated for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy , awarded annually to the NHL player best exemplifying perseverance and dedication . He also had an excellent play - off showing , scoring twice ( one of which involved a lesson in geometry as he shot from the corner , banking the puck off St . Louis Blues goaltender Greg Millen ' s pads and into the net ) and adding an assist in six post - season games . Also of note , in game two of that second - round series , Smith chased an errant puck and Blues ' defenceman Lee Norwood into the corner , taking Norwood hard into the boards . Norwood responded by sucker punching Smith from behind , and essentially poking Smith in the eye with the thumb of his glove . As Smith felt for blood , looking at his hand , Norwood punched Smith from behind again . The gratuitous clip made Late Night with David Letterman . More importantly , Toronto scored the winning goal on the ensuing power play and got back into the series . Smith ' s shiner , meanwhile , became the local rallying point on the front pages of Toronto newspapers , while Hockey Night in Canada began coverage of game three with a live close - up of Smith ' s eye under the harsh studio lights . Coached in Toronto by Dan Maloney and John Brophy respectively , Smith ' s skills were best utilized with the Maple Leafs , where his key role was to " change the pace of the game . " The Toronto Star ' s Frank Orr deemed Smith " an adrenalin player " while Brophy saw Smith as " a whirling dervish " who could stray from a disciplined checking role at the flip of a switch , leaving his wing , generally skating all over the ice , and playing what Brophy termed a " helter - skelter " style designed to throw the opposition ' s systems into chaos — an infuriating trait that would eventually get Smith ' s name on the Stanley Cup . In a Toronto Star article dated , January 27 , 1986 , Don Cherry described Smith as “ one of the best cornermen in the league . ” Cherry also liked the fact that fights were a big part of Smith ' s game . And while one of hockey ' s last 11 helmetless warriors seldom won , he seldom lost , holding his own against the likes of Clark Gillies , Stan Jonathan , " Mad Dog " Bob Kelly , Joey Kocur , Lindy Ruff , and Glen Cochrane . As a Maple Leaf , Smith faced his former team , the Red Wings , on Nov . 15th , 1986 in Toronto , fighting Gerard Gallant on the opening face - off , then going on to drop the gloves three more times that game . So distracted were the Wings by their former teammate that Toronto was up 6 – 0 by the time Smith was ejected and served with 57 minutes , etching his name in Maple Leaf history as the most penalized Leaf in a single game . It was also Toronto ' s most penalized game in franchise history . Smith was again a stalwart play - off performer in 1986 – 87 , scoring a game - winning breakaway goal to clinch Toronto ' s 1987 opening - round series win over the St . Louis Blues on April 16 of that year . At that point , the Leafs had not won a best - of - seven play - off series since 1978 , and they would not win another play - off series period until 1993 , making Smith ' s goal , arguably , the most important over a span of 15 years in Toronto Maple Leafs history . While in Toronto , Smith also set up goals for Wendel Clark to both tie and surpass the Leafs ' rookie goal - scoring mark on March 3 , 1986 against the Winnipeg Jets , a game in which Smith deployed a remarkable behind - the - back pass to set up Clark ' s second goal of the game , an open - netter to break the record . Earlier , Smith picked an errant Winnipeg pass out of the air with his stick to set up the drive in which Clark tied the mark . Ironically , Smith ' s playing career ended in the fall of 1987 following a hit by Clark during an intrasquad training camp game . Having just signed a three - year contract , Smith eventually retired as a result of the back injury , running a charter - fishing business before returning home to Windsor in 1989 to coach the Spitfires for two - and - half years . After returning the Spits to respectability , Smith joined the Edmonton Oilers scouting staff in 1991 , serving under Glen Sather . At the start of the 1995 – 96 season , Smith became a scout for the Colorado Avalanche . There , he enjoyed perhaps his finest moment , deconstructing Scotty Bowman ' s left - wing lock during the 1996 play - offs and neutralizing it as Colorado beat the favoured Red Wings and went on to win the Stanley Cup . " Smith noticed the Red Wings ' left wingers , who stayed back to help the defense , were small , " The Sporting News reported . " So the Avalanche made sure to softly dump the puck into the right corner , where the Avs ' forwards pounced . This wore down Detroit ' s left wingers . " Colorado won the series , and by the time the Avs swept Florida in the finals , Detroit GM Ken Holland was also publicly crediting Smith with that key assist in Colorado ' s successful run . The Avalanche won another cup in 2001 , and Smith ' s name is now engraved on Lord Stanley ' s mug . He currently serves as the Avalanche Director of Player Personnel . In October , 2009 , Smith was inducted into the Windsor - Essex County Sports Hall of Fame . Smith was the head coach of the Windsor Spitfires in 1989 - 90 and 1990 - 91 .