Being a tough, stay-at-home defenceman, Ladislav Smid became a fan favourite in Edmonton over his eight years with the Oilers.

He’d play 474 games in the Blue and Orange, coming to Northern Alberta in the trade that sent Chris Pronger to the Anaheim Ducks. At his peak, Smid munched minutes on some poor Oilers teams, in the late 2000s and early 2010s, helping stopgap the blue line for years.

Smid’s minute munching, shot blocking ways saw him as a quiet defenceman. He never put up a lot of points, and he never put up much in terms of offence. Across his 474 games in Edmonton, he scored just 11 goals and 65 points, with his most productive season coming in 2011-12. He put up five goals and 15 points that year, both career highs, while blocking 184 shots and laying 186 hits. Among defencemen that year, he finished seventh in blocked shots and 13th in hits.

One of his more memorable moments — maybe not in the best way — was when, during a pre-game skate ahead of a February 2012 game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, he deflected a puck that hit then head coach Tom Renney in the head. Oops!

What else Smid was remembered for was the transactions he was — and wasn’t — involved in. He arrived in the Pronger trade alongside two first-round picks, one of which was used to draft Jordan Eberle, as well as a second-round pick. Smid was almost an Ottawa Senator in 2009, rumoured to be sent there alongside Dustin Penner and Andrew Cogliano for Dany Heatley, but we all know how that turned out.

Drafted by the Ducks ninth overall in the 2004 draft, he arrived in North America playing the 2005-06 season with their AHL affiliate before being dealt to Edmonton.

His tenure in Alberta didn’t end when the Oilers traded him away in November 2013, however, as they sent him three hours south to the Calgary Flames, alongside 2009 fifth-round pick goaltender Oliver Roy, for goaltender Laurent Brossoit and forward Roman Horak.

Smid would play three more injury-riddled seasons with the Flames before retiring after the 2015-16 season. He now lives in Edmonton and is active on social media, cheering the Oilers on in their recent playoff runs.

Ladislav Smid joined Oilersnation’s Oilersnation Radio podcast in June 2019, where he spoke about getting traded to Edmonton, his time with the team, and what the Battle of Alberta was like.

Zach Laing is Oilersnation’s associate editor, senior columnist, and The Nation Network’s news director. He also makes up one-half of the DFO DFS Report. He can be followed on X at @zjlaing, or reached by email at zach.laing@bettercollective.com.