@Mike Smith has played 766 pro games in his 17 year career. He played 27 in the ECHL, 132 regular season and 12 playoff AHL games and another 571 regular season and 24 playoff NHL games. He’s played in Lexington, Utah, Houston, Iowa, Norfolk, Dallas, Tampa Bay, Arizona and Calgary, and he’ll wear his 10th pro jersey this coming season with the Edmonton Oilers.

In 571 NHL games, he has a .912sv%. He isn’t an elite goalie, but he’s had a long and really good career. His best season was 2011/2012 when he posted a .930sv% and a 2.21 GAA and finished fourth in Vezina Trophy voting. He was also incredibly good in the playoffs that year, with a sparkling .944sv% and 1.99 GAA in 16 playoff games as the Coyotes went to the Conference Final for the only time in franchise history.

(I looked at his season splits this past seasons, and you can read them at the bottom of this article. It is interesting to note what his career sv%  (.912) is and how he performed last year.)

If Smith plays in 29 games this season he will become only the 52nd goalie in NHL history to play in 600 games. In 13 NHL seasons, he’s only had a sub .900sv% twice — 2011 with Tampa Bay (.899) and this past season in Calgary (.898).

Combine that number with his age and many wonder how he will perform this season. It is a fair question, and one Smith knows people are asking. During our interview on TSN 1260 Smith made it clear he is out to prove people he isn’t done. He still has the fire, and he will come to camp looking to not only support @Mikko Koskinen, but push him for playing time.

Mike Smith: The start was not what I was looking for. I had some things going on in my life that maybe hindered me mentally a little bit, but I’m passed that now.

After the All-Star break I felt like I was playing some of the best hockey of my career and obviously, it didn’t end the way that we wanted it to. You want to go farther in the playoffs than the first round, but I felt personally I played my best hockey at the most important time of the year and that’s all you can ask for as an athlete. You want to be in the playoffs and you want to play real good hockey when you get a chance to get in there and unfortunately that wasn’t good enough, but I’m excited about my new opportunity here in Edmonton.

Smith: You know what, I’ve been in a lot of different roles at my age. I learned a lot about being a good teammate and I’ve learned from the best. I had Marty Turco as a young guy who I really looked up to as a veteran player and he always told me, ‘You’re going to be in this position one day, make sure that you treat the young guys the way they deserve to be treated.’

I’m going to come in and I’m going to push Mikko, but I’m going to do my best to help him as much as I can, too. We’re going to be on the same team and I’m sure we’re going to be a competitive as a one-two combo, but we’re all in it for the same reason and that’s to get back into the playoffs and to win a Stanley Cup. Whatever we can do to help each other out and to push each other, that’s what we’re going to do and help this team get to the next level.

Smith: I obviously have a lot of respect for Tipp as a coach and as a person. I think I had a good relationship with him throughout my career, with early on in Dallas and obviously in Arizona where I spent six years and now with the opportunity in Edmonton. I think he’s just a straight shooter and you know where you stand with Tipp. And I think with athletes that’s all that you can ask for. There is no grey area with Tipp. He’s a systems coach who preaches work ethic and attention to detail.

And like I said you just know where you stand. So I think as an athlete you go out there and you just worry about what you can control and you worry about what your job is at hand and everything else looks after itself.

Smith: Yeah, I think both Jimmy and Tipp preach to the importance of defence and defensive zone coverage. So I think more so it will be the communication between me and the defensemen and I’m always one to be a verbal guy and I’ve had good relationships with the guys in the past and I know different methods.

I’m a guy who can go behind the net and wants to help the D-man get the pucks out of the zone as quick as possible. So there will be a lot of communication, especially early in the season when there are new faces and a new goalie to get used to. All-in-all I’m looking forward to that challenge and this new challenge in my career here.

Smith: To be honest I always was one to get out of my net, in junior and even in the minors a little bit.

Once I was drafted by Dallas and I saw how Marty Turco played, and how important it was it their success, I really took pride in studying his game and I watched a lot of tape. Then I just started implementing it into my game and practising it in the offseason trying to get better at it.

It’s something I really take pride in, and I really think it helps the defensive group out. The faster we can get it into the forward’s hands, especially with some of the dangerous guys that are on the Oilers, the better. It’s something that I’ll always continue to work at. It’s something that even at practice now, coaches that I’ve had have implemented that into their practice to really get used to me coming out and playing it. Anything I can do in that sense to help Mikko out, I’m going to do it. Anything for the betterment of the team is my main focus this year.

Smith: (Laughs) I don’t think that they brought me in to get assists, but like I said, it’s a big part of my game, the puck handling part. Whatever I can do to help spark the offense is a bonus but more so it is to limit the times our defensemen are going to get hit. That just makes for longevity in the season and to limit the punishment that gets put on them is the main thing and the main reason why I want to get out there. Anything else after that that happens is obviously a bonus. I really feel like it helps the D out and limits their time getting pounded in the end wall. Hopefully they can get up the ice and create some offense also. Maybe the odd stretch pass (laughs). So all of those things benefit the team in general.

Smith: I think any goalie will tell you that playing teams who like to shoot the puck from all over the place you can never let your guard down. So you’re always mentally in the game, you can never relax. I think with the puck handling part of it, no matter whether you’re getting 20 or 40 shots, I think you’re always in the game. You’re always alert because you’re wanting to move the puck around too. I think that part of it helps you to stay more mentally engaged in the game and whether it’s 20 or 40 you’ve got to do your job, whatever it is and give your team the best chance to win.

Smith: I’m a big believer that you can always get better, and you can always learn. No matter what your age. So just when you think you have it figured out is the only time you’re going to hit the locker room pretty quick and be in the shower. You’ve got to keep learning, keep improving your game, even at this age. And Schwartz, he’s already reached out to me and I’m looking forward to meeting with him and getting his take on my game. Anything I can do to improve a little bit at this point in my career, I’m all game for that. So, I’m excited about this new chapter and I can’t wait to get it started.

Smith: Like you said, you’re always learning. I think the mental part of the game is a lot of it. You obviously have to be a good athlete, you have to have a good fundamental base, but at the end of the day you have to learn to deal with different coach’s philosophies and different structure in front of you. There are a lot of things that go on through the course of the season that mentally you just have to will your way through it and there’s a lot of other things that were going on outside of hockey that just kind of built up and made it difficult for me to refocus.

But like I said, I’m always learning, I learned a lot about myself this year and came from a long ways down back up to a level I believe I can play at regularly. I have a lot left in the tank and a lot left to prove so I’ll be highly motivated this year to go show everyone that. I’m still for real and I’m not leaving anytime soon.

Smith mentioned how he felt he was much better after the All-Star break. The numbers back it up.

In 24 starts in October-January he had a .888sv% and a 3.04 GAA, while David Rittch, in 27 starts, had a .918sv% and 2.47 GAA.

After the AS break Smith had 16 starts and posted a .912sv% and a 2.28 GAA, while Rittich, in 15 starts, posted a .898sv% and a 2.89 GAA.

And then in five playoff starts Smith had a .917sv%. As he said, he was much better in the final three months of the season.

He mentioned he had some personal stuff going on in his life that impacted his play early, but says that is behind him now and his play over the final three months is the level he expects to play at this upcoming season.

In his first 24 starts he had an ugly .888sv%, but over his final 21 starts he had a .914sv%, which is right around his career average.

Can he be close to a .912% this year? The Oilers are hoping he can and Smith is confident he will be.

After having such a blast over the past two years, we absolutely knew that we were going to organize another golf tourney for the summer and, after a few months of planning, we’re psyched to finally be able to launch our third annual golf tournament.

As always, a portion of all proceeds from your ticket purchase will be donated directly to a local charity. This time we’ve partnered up with the Gregor Foundation to make sure that our kids are at their most handsome.