Two WATNs in one day? I know, it's really, really amazing. But, there's some more news of note for a former Philly athlete.
Word out of Ottawa today is that former Flyers captain Jason Smith has retired this morning. Smith, most recently with the Senators, was a tough competitor for 14 years, someone I respected before his time with the Flyers as well as during it.
Gator AKA Jason Smith, originally uploaded by neat1325.
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Gator wasn't a Flyer for long, joining the team along with Joffrey Lupul as part of the 2007 facelift summer spending spree that took them from last place to contenders overnight. His tenure lasted only a season, during which he wore the captain's C, a great honor in this town. At that late stage in his career in a salary-cap era, he was let leave without much fanfare, but most of the people in the seats at the Wachovia Center had a lot of respect for his style of play and all out effort. Even with his body beat up from all those years, Smith always put the effort in to be a physical presence on the ice; you could see it in his perennially black eyes, and you can only imagine what the rest of him looked like.
Best of luck in life after hockey, Gator.