Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Hey, it's Bob Stauffer. I just wanted to let you know that you can listen to Oilers Now ad-free on Amazon Music, included with Prime.
It's Oilers Now Road to the Cup brought to you by Sentinel Storage. Bryn Griffiths along with Aidan Ganim. And now it's our pleasure to welcome to the program a guy who was drafted in the third round, 63rd overall. The entry draft was 1987. He was a really solid defenseman for the Edmonton Oilers and a few other NHL teams. Jeff Smith joins us. Hello, Jeff. How you doing? I'm doing pretty well.
How about you guys? Fine, thank you. As we've been leading off with everybody so far, did you watch the game last night? What did you think of that effort by the Oilers?
I watched it, and I thought it was a really good effort. They played good offensively, and they shut the door down, got some good goaltending, and it was fun to watch.
When you're watching a game, can you really just enjoy it or do you have to, in your brain, you're breaking it down? I always love talking to guys who've played because some guys say, oh, no, I could be a fan, I could be a fan, but can you be a fan?
I'm definitely a fan. I was born and raised in Edmonton, so it's easy to be a fan for the Edmonton Oilers for sure. And then I was lucky enough to play there. But you're right, it does creep up on you. We try to not be armchair quarterbacks in the stands. Hopefully not. And, you know, there's a lot of other stuff going on on the ice sometimes. So it's easy to second guess.
But, you know, I try not to. I try to secure for the team.
Hey Jeff, it's Aiden here. I just want to ask you, obviously you played with the Oilers in the Stanley Cup playoffs before, so obviously two different eras, but how do you feel this year's Oilers group is handling the pressure of the postseason so far?
Well, they've had the past two years where they went to the ultimate dance there in the Stanley Cup final. So I don't think pressure is a big thing for them. I don't think it would be. There's some comparisons. Like we were down 3-1 to Winnipeg in our first series to go on and win the Cup in 1990. And, you know, that's where the boys were at.
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Chapter 2: What insights does Geoff Smith share about the Oilers' recent game performance?
And they're going to battle back from it. And I'm sure they're, you know, I don't know. I like the way they're playing. And I think if they play a full 60-minute game, they're going to like the results.
Hey, let's stick with that, the fact that you went all the way to the cup final there and beat the Boston Bruins in that series. How much of that do you remember? Was it all such a blur? Or as you move along in life, things just pop out and there's stories where you go, I completely forgot about that one.
Yeah, I mean, there's... I don't know. I think it was what I remember the most about that time was just how close our team was and how much everybody was just kind of fighting for each other, whether we were playing 25 minutes a game or five minutes a game or once every couple of games. I was a young kid and I didn't play a whole bunch. Boy, we were excited to get in there when we did.
And, you know, we had a great veteran group at that time. I just remember the leadership, you know, as I get older and I look back on it, I think about how many great leaders were on that team. Like, you know, Mark Messias obviously was... the first and foremost big leader of that Edmonton Oilers group. We probably had another 10 or more guys that were exceptional leaders in the dressing room.
It was a comforting feeling. You know, when you went to play, you knew everyone had your back and everyone was there to play and do their best.
The other thing about that entire run, and I travel with you guys on the old Convair planes and everything through that entire series, it seemed like it was always somebody different stepping up in every series. The first one, there was Mark Lamb. Yari Curry scored a big goal against the Jets in the one game. Then you have the kid line going crazy against L.A.
And then Chicago Stadium, the mess show was unbelievable. It was absolutely sensational at the Chicago Stadium. And then you go into Boston, and it was all those veteran guys who'd been there before who carried the mail for you. It must have been just amazing to watch how everybody stood up to win the cup.
Yeah it was definitely a total team effort you know and you got Peter Klima scoring a big goal there in Boston and pretty exciting times but you're right like I think everybody you know on the team has a role and they have a big part to play in the success of the team and you need those guys to step up I think I might be getting my dates wrong but you look at
I think it was 1994 when New Jersey won the Cup and a guy like Randy McKay steps up and scores a whole bunch of goals that playoff. And, you know, we've seen it in game one. You know, we had a couple of players in Edmonton, third, fourth line guys that scored two each. And I think that's what it takes.
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Chapter 3: How does Geoff Smith compare the current Oilers team to his playoff experiences?
I think there's definitely momentum. I don't know the players and everything else, but if I could jump inside their head or inside their dressing room right now, I'd say that they know they've got it within themselves as a team to win. I think they just have to do it one minute at a time, one shift at a time, one period at a time, and be consistent for 60 minutes. I think they'll be just fine.
Edmonton has such a great team in so many ways. I remember at near the end of the year watching them play Colorado. I thought that was a good measuring stick for where they're at. They lost in overtime that night, but I thought that was a heck of a hockey game.
The one thing I've got to ask you about for checking, too, because last year, as we noticed at the Stanley Cup final level with Florida, they came in and really checked the order of defense core hard. This series has been quite that way with the Ducks. They're not letting the guys get it out of their own zone. How do you counteract that a little bit? What's your take on that?
Well, I think, you know, as a defenseman, you try to make a good first pass and let all those talented forwards get it out of your zone and, you know, start to get chances on the rush and such. But, you know, Anaheim's a good hockey team too. I mean, they've got a lot of good young players that really skate well. They work hard. They're well coached. They're playing a good system.
But to counteract that hard forecheck is to try to get back for pucks as quick as you can. Give yourself an extra half second to make a little bit better play on your way out of your zone. That's what I was always taught is get back for that puck as quick as you can. It gives you more time. almost like a quarterback in the pocket.
And if you can be in that pocket or back for pucks with time, you're going to make a good play, especially these guys now. They've all got great skills passing and stuff. Get it out of your zone, you know?
That's what I'm saying. I do have to ask you, because you've played for some coaches, but let's talk about the guys that you had when you were here. Was there one or two of the coaches that mentored you on the back of the blue line? Like Teddy Green was. I mean, Greeny was a certain kind of guy, but Muck was there.
You know, we could go on and on about the coaching staff, but was there one guy that kind of pulled you aside and said, look, you got it. Just do a few things here. Do a few things there.
Well, you know, Teddy Green put a lot of confidence into me. I don't think I was a very confident player coming in. And, you know, Teddy kind of, he pulled me aside one day and he said, you can, you know, I played a couple exhibition games and came into camp not supposed to make the team. So he said, you can stick with these guys and you're doing well.
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Chapter 4: What memories does Geoff Smith recall from the 1990 Stanley Cup run?
You know that.
I've seen Teddy do it. So have I. Yeah, maybe in Winnipeg one night, but there's a statute of limitations on that one, but I've seen Teddy defend us. We used to have to walk out to the bus on our own without security, and Teddy kept some people off our back one night coming out of Winnipeg. I remember that.
It's funny you should say that because I was on that bus, and I remember that moment, and it seemed to calm down when Ted came off the bus.
Is that funny how that works? It kind of did, yeah. They for sure had our back in every way. And, you know, they were hard on us at times, but they're always firm but fair and 100% respect for all the coaches I had in Edmonton.
I think Bucky said to me, he's got it. Don't worry about it. So we all just kind of chilled out while we were watching everything going on outside the bus at the old Winnipeg arena. It was pretty, pretty crazy.
It wasn't cell phones back then.
Yeah, exactly. Hey, before we let you go, what are you doing now? Like, what are you doing for fun?
I'm, Well, I coached for quite a few years in minor hockey and I got a chance to coach three years with the Countless Blazers as an assistant coach. And after that, I got into mining. So I've been into mining for about 15 years now and it's going good. The similarities are we work with teams and there's some camaraderie that we get that we probably all seek when we retire from hockey.
We're looking for that. That's the biggest thing I miss is being around the guys and and that family atmosphere so kind of replace it a bit with mining it's never going to be the same as hockey but that's what i'm doing well thanks for being with us you can always talk hockey with us we appreciate your time today jeff I appreciate it, too, and the best of luck to the Oilers. Thanks, Jeff.
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Chapter 5: How does Geoff Smith evaluate the importance of team dynamics in hockey?
It was funny. I still laugh about it when I think about Teddy. Okay, let's take a look at what's going on in the out-of-town scoreboard coming up tonight. We have three games on tap. Five o'clock our time tonight. We've got Montreal and the Tampa Bay Lightning. Who do you like in that one? I think I like...
The Canadiens. I've got them, honestly, going all the way to the final in my personal bracket. Really? Just because of the amount of skill on that roster. And if they can find a way to get some wins out of Dobish, they're going to be in really good shape. And, I mean, we've seen it the whole way through. Tampa Bay is nothing to laugh at. They're led by Nikita Kucherov, who...
is putting up insane numbers, just absolutely bonkers. And I mean, Montreal has been able to hang in and they've got the defense, they've got the forward talent, no doubt about that. The biggest question mark for me is goaltending, but if Dobish hangs on like he has been, I've got no doubts in my mind that they'll
they'll get this one out I do think it's going to go seven though Tampa highly favored by a lot of people to go all the way because we it wouldn't be a Stanley Cup final without somebody from Florida there however Montreal is going to give them a bit of a run here this will be a great game coming up five o'clock our time tonight at 5 30 we have the Philadelphia Flyers at home to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins Flyers up in the series but Pittsburgh ain't quitting
Yeah, and you know what? Pittsburgh won both games on the road against the Flyers. No, they lost both games on the road against the Flyers. And they managed to pick up a win at home and then another one on the road.
But the way that this series has worked out, I mean, nobody expected Philly to come out of the gate and take down Sidney Crosby and Evgeny Malkin and Chris Letang and all these guys in three straight and then you know, maybe a sweep coming. But the Penguins, a lot of these guys I feel like is probably nearing their last ride. So I don't think they were going to be an easy out.
They picked up two key wins. And I think that the Flyers are going to find a way to close this thing out today.
Need to. They're up 3-2. You don't want to go down back to Pittsburgh for a game of seven. The other matchup, 8 o'clock our time tonight in Vegas, the Golden Knights entertaining the Utah Mammoth. That series is tied at two. That one's kind of got to me, that one looks like a seven-gamer for sure.
Yeah, 100%. I mean, the way that that series has played out, and I mean, you've got to give it to the Utah Mammoth. Karel Vemelka has had an unbelievable series the whole way through. He's kind of been the reason that the Mammoth have the two wins that they have. And then you also think about the upfront talent that they have. It's just like Montreal, and it's just like the Flyers.
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