Oilersnation is reviving the Top 100 Edmonton Oilers of All Time list, a project originally created by the late Robin Brownlee in 2015. Jason Smith comes in at No. 27 on our updated 2025 list. He was ranked No. 20 on Brownlee’s original list.

Jason Smith was not the flashiest of players. In fact, flash was probably the least thing you could expect from him. But Gator was a tough, gritty stay-at-home defenceman, who never shied away from blocking shots, throwing hits and filling in the odd opponent when neccesary.

“I’m just going to try and bring a solid defensive game to this team… Go out and play as hard as I can every game,” he told Robin Brownlee upon the Oilers’ acquisition of him in 1999.

Notable

At the beginning of his third season with the Oilers, he was named the 11th captain in franchise history. As a player who exuded leadership qualities on and off the ice, he was the obvious candidate for the position.

“He’s the ultimate walk-softly-carry-the-big-stick guy,” former head coach Craig MacTavish told Joanne Ireland of the Edmonton Journal. “He embodies all the characteristics we as an organization and as a coaching staff deem important for leadership.”

Ireland wrote, “Smith, in........

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