Zack Smith announces his retirement, reveals injury factored into the decision

After 12 seasons of playing in the National Hockey League, 33-year-old Zack Smith has announced his retirement. While his last season in the NHL was as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks, Smith is best known for his time as an Ottawa Senator, where he played his entire career before he was traded in 2019.

"I thought it would have been a new start and I would get a bit of the fire back," Smith told The Athletic. "But that didn't really happen."

Smith added that a back injury factored into his decision. He had surgery for the issue in March of 2020 and was cleared to return for the 2020-21 season, but ended up not playing in any games.

"After having the surgery, it didn't really solve the issues that I was going through. I got some relief, but in terms of being able to train at a high level, that wasn't going to happen," said Smith. "I haven't played a game in a year and a half. And that will be two years in February since I've played an actual NHL game. And it would have been tough to come back after that length of time and get back to the pace, knowing that I probably would have lost a step or two."

As for what he'll do next, Smith said he plans to talk to the NHLPA about their post-playing business and leadership program, which works with retired players to discover their passions.

"It's not a well-planned retirement," Smith joked. "But there is kind of an exciting element to that as well."

While he had nothing bad to say about his time in Chicago, Smith said his time in Ottawa is what he'll remember most.

"The people in Ottawa made it feel like home right from the start," said Smith."If it wasn't for all our friends and family being out in western Canada, we would definitely call Ottawa home."

Smith played in a total of 662 regular season NHL games, recording 204 points (98 G, 106 A). He took part in another 45 playoff games, managing 9 points (7G, 2A).

Source: The Athletic

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