Longtime Senator Zack Smith retires

Twelve-year NHL veteran Zack Smith is hanging up his skates at the age of 33, he confirmed to The Athletic's Ian Mendes on Friday.

"There were definitely a bunch of different factors that went into it," Smith said. "And I don't want to sound like I was taking it for granted or that I didn't appreciate the life that hockey has given to me, but my heart wasn't into it the last couple of years. I guess I was a little jaded in some ways. You're playing well and then you learn the business side of it."

Smith played 11 of his NHL seasons with the Ottawa Senators, who drafted him in the third round of the 2008 draft. He was primarily known as a bottom-six grinder, but he scored double-digit goals four times in his career, including a career-high 25 in 2015-16. He also helped Ottawa reach the conference finals in 2017.

The Sens placed Smith on waivers in 2018, which the forward says affected him mentally.

"That was definitely the low point in my career, being told that I was placed on waivers," Smith said. "And I don't think I ever fully recovered from that or got my confidence back. Not even a full year before that, I thought I was doing well and doing what I was supposed to contribution-wise. And then that happened."

Ottawa traded Smith to the Chicago Blackhawks during the 2019 offseason for Artem Anisimov. He spent the 2019-20 campaign in the Windy City before sitting out the entire following season.

The Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, native finishes his career with 204 points in 662 games.