Nicknamed "Steamer" by the Bellingham Blazer fans for his relentless and hard-nosed style of play,[1] he served as captain for a team record eight seasons, later tied by Henrik Sedin.

He retired as the Canucks' all-time leader in games played, goals, assists and points – all of which have been since surpassed by Henrik and Daniel Sedin.

Notching 33 points in 25 playoff games, he led the Blazers to a Fred Page Cup title as league champions in a 4–2 win over the Kelowna Buckaroos.

[2] Advancing to a best-of-seven series with the Alberta Junior Hockey League (AJHL) champions for a berth in the 1975 Royal Bank Cup, the Blazers lost the Pacific regional title to the Spruce Grove Mets.

[3] Following his playoffs with the Blazers, Smyl debuted at the major junior level with the New Westminster Bruins of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL).

[6] After a decorated season with the New Westminster Bruins, his final year of junior, Smyl was a third round, 40th overall selection in the 1978 NHL Amateur Draft by the Vancouver Canucks.

Playing on a line with fellow rookies Thomas Gradin and Curt Fraser,[9] he scored 14 goals and 38 points over 62 games in his first season.

As the Canucks qualified for the 1979 playoffs as the final seed, Smyl scored his first NHL post-season goal in game one of the preliminary round against the Philadelphia Flyers.

In the second half of the season, he registered a team record point-scoring streak that lasted 12 games (five goals and 22 points) between February 7 and March 4, 1980.

[11] Shortly after the streak ended, he notched his first NHL career hat trick against the goaltender Pat Riggin during a game against the Atlanta Flames on March 7.

Early in the 1981–82 season, Smyl recorded a five-point game, notching a hat trick and two assists, in an 8–4 win against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 31, 1981.

[15] Late in the campaign, he was named team captain, succeeding defenceman Kevin McCarthy, who had broken his ankle during practice.

Despite finishing the regular season with a losing record, the Canucks embarked on a playoff run to the franchise's first Stanley Cup Finals in team history.

In the fifth and deciding game of the semi-finals against the Chicago Black Hawks, Smyl notched two goals in a 6–2 win to capture the Clarence S. Campbell Bowl as conference champions, sending the Canucks to the Finals.

[17] Facing the New York Islanders, who had finished the regular season 41 points ahead of the Canucks and had won the Stanley Cup the previous two years, they were swept in four games.

During the subsequent off-season, Canucks general manager Harry Neale appointed Smyl as McCarthy's permanent successor as team captain.

[11] Late in the campaign, he recorded the most prolific month by a Canucks player in team history with 31 points (10 goals and 21 assists) over 16 games in March 1983.

[21] Entering the 1983 playoffs, the Canucks attempted to defend their Clarence S. Campbell Bowl of the previous season, but were defeated in four games of a best-of-five series against the Calgary Flames.

[11] Late in the 1985–86 season, Smyl suffered torn knee ligaments due to a blindsiding check from opposing forward Alain Côté during the final minute of a 7–6 win against the Quebec Nordiques on March 26, 1987.

[25] Upon returning to the lineup, Smyl was involved in an altercation with Montreal Canadiens forward Stéphane Richer that led to a bench-clearing brawl during a game on November 2.

[26] After spearing Richer late in the third period, Canadiens forward Claude Lemieux then sucker-punched Smyl in the head on his way to the bench.

[31] Smyl had an opportunity to win the series for Vancouver on a breakaway in overtime, but was stopped by a Mike Vernon glove save.

Smyl retired with Canucks franchise records in every major statistical category with 262 goals, 411 assists and 673 points in 896 games played.

[7] When Smyl announced his retirement on July 3, 1991, he was concurrently named a Canucks assistant coach, along with Rick Ley, to Pat Quinn.

Ley overtook head coaching duties from 1994 to 1996 as Quinn returned to his executive positions as president and general manager.

In June 1999, Smyl was named head coach of the Canucks' American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Syracuse Crunch.

In the 2000 off-season, the Canucks signed a two-year affiliation agreement with the Kansas City Blades of the International Hockey League (IHL).

[50] When the IHL folded following Smyl's first season with the Blades, he was moved back to the AHL, named coach of the Manitoba Moose on June 28, 2001.

[52] However, as the Moose missed the playoffs for the first time in seven years in 2004, Smyl was dismissed as head coach on June 7, 2004,[53] and reassigned within the Canucks organization.

[62][63] On October 05, 2023 Smyl announced he was stepping away from his Hockey Operations position after 45 years but is remaining with the club as a community and business ambassador.