Post-career
In 1981, Smith had played 37 games for the Colorado Rockies and retired. He jumped on a train to Vancouver and began selling cars. Afterwards, he headed to the BC interior to pick fruit. Before returning to Toronto, Smith also tried to sell the Reuters news service to new clients.
Smith did keep in touch with former WHA team mate Larry Pleau. When Pleau coached the Hartford Whalers in the NHL, Pleau would leave Smith tickets at Maple Leaf Gardens.
Once he returned to Toronto, Smith engaged in his love of writing. Subjects would include sports, ultimately creating the play Confessions to Anne Sexton and the beginnings of a novel titled, The Tragedy of Lake Tuscarora. To make ends meet, Smith became a taxi driver for Beck Taxi, a company in Toronto known for its orange and green taxi cabs. It was not uncommon for Smith to pick up old friends and former teammates.
In 1998, Smith would produce the play Confessions to Anne Sexton and bring it to theatre in 1998. The play, was about a former goalie who goes to New York City to attend an Impressionist art exhibit. On opening night, 17 people attended the Alumnae Theatre on Berkeley Street in Toronto to see the performance. He used the $34,000 of pension benefits he'd received as part of the NHL's settlement with former players.
In the last few months of his life, Smith socialized with Jim Keon, the brother of Smith's former teammate Dave Keon. Before his death, Smith was still working on The Tragedy of Lake Tuscarora. Smith's son Adam always said that his father was not a talented writer. After reading the manuscript, Adam told his father on his deathbed that there were 14 pages that were perfect and Smith was happy.
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