He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, New York Islanders, Los Angeles Kings, Ottawa Senators, Chicago Blackhawks, Vancouver Canucks and Montreal Canadiens.

After a 31-point season in the shortened 1994–95 campaign, Smolinski was traded in the summer of 1995 alongside Glen Murray to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Kevin Stevens and Shawn McEachern.

In November 1996, general manager Mike Milbury of the New York Islanders traded defenseman Darius Kasparaitis and rookie Andreas Johansson for the rights to negotiate a contract with Smolinski.

Smolinski played three seasons for the Islanders before being traded in June 1999 as part of an eight-player deal that saw him, Žigmund Pálffy, goaltender Marcel Cousineau, and fourth-round selection previously acquired from the New Jersey Devils (Daniel Johansson) traded to the Los Angeles Kings for Olli Jokinen, Josh Green, Mathieu Biron, and a first-round selection (Taylor Pyatt).

[5] After his stint with the Montreal Canadiens, Smolinski began an assistant coaching job for a Michigan high school team, Birmingham Unified.