Few NHL players are as identified with a team as Smyth is with the Edmonton Oilers. He played 15 of his 19 NHL seasons with Edmonton and scored 296 of his 386 goals in an Oilers uniform.

Edmonton selected Smyth with the No. 6 pick in the 1994 NHL Draft, and he made his debut with the Oilers at the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 22, 1995. By 1996-97, Smyth was a top-six forward for Edmonton; he scored an NHL career-high 39 goals that season, 31 (and an NHL career-high 70 points) in 2000-01 and 36 goals in 2005-06. The Oilers advanced to Game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Final, where they lost to the Carolina Hurricanes; Smyth finished with 16 points (seven goals, nine assists) in 24 playoff games.

Though Smyth scored 31 goals in 53 games for the Oilers in 2006-07, Edmonton was not going to qualify for the playoffs. Smyth was also in the final season of his contract, and on Feb. 27, 2007, the Oilers traded him to the New York Islanders. After saying a tearful goodbye, Smyth scored 15 points (five goals, 10 assists) in 18 games, helping his new team qualify for the postseason.

Smyth opted to become a free agent and signed a five-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche on July 1, 2007. He missed much of his first season with Colorado because of injuries, but scored 59 points (26 goals, 33 assists) in 2008-09. On Jan. 18, 2009, Smyth and teammate Milan Hejduk each scored his 300th NHL goal in a 6-2 win against the Calgary Flames. However, the Avalanche finished last in the Western Conference and traded Smyth to the Los Angeles Kings on July 3, 2009.

Smyth finished his first season in Los Angeles with 53 points (22 goals, 31 assists) to help the Kings advance to the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2002. He played his 1,000th NHL game on Nov. 6, 2010, finished the 2010-11 season with 47 points (23 goals, 24 assists) and helped Los Angeles reach the postseason again.

But Smyth wanted to end his NHL career where it had started, and on June 26, 2011, the Kings traded him back to the Oilers. He played his final three League seasons with Edmonton before retiring at age 38 with 842 points (386 goals, 456 assists) in 1,270 NHL games, as well as 59 points (28 goals, 31 assists) in 93 playoff games.

Smyth also had plenty of success playing internationally. He was part of the team that won gold at the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics and helped Canada finish first at the 1995 IIHF World Junior Championship, the 2003 and 2004 IIHF World Championship and the 2004 World Cup of Hockey. He was Canada's captain at the World Championships six times, the most of any player.