Smolinski grew up in suburban Northwest Ohio and played for the Michigan State Spartans. He was drafted 21st overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Boston Bruins.

 

After his rookie season in 1993-94, Smolinski was traded in the summer of 1995 alongside Glen Murray to the Pittsburgh Penguins for Kevin Stevens and Shawn McEachern. After the 1995-96 season Smolinski and the Penguins could not agree on a new contract. Smolinksi sat out the start of the next season and played for the Detroit Vipers of the IHL. In November, General Manager Mike Milbury of the New York Islanders traded defenceman Darius Kasparaitis and rookie Andreas Johansson for the rights to Smolinksi.

 

Smolinski played three seasons for the Islanders. In June 1999, Smolinski was part of an eight player trade that saw him, Zigmund Palffy, goaltender Marcel Cousineau, and 4th 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).

Smolinski played four seasons for the Kings, before being traded to the Ottawa Senators at the trade deadline for defence prospect Tim Gleason in March 2003.

 

During the NHL strike for the 2004-2005 season, Smolinski was an assistant hockey coach at Cranbrook Kingswood before he briefly played for the Motor City Mechanics.

 

On July 9, 2006, Smolinksi was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in a three-way deal with the Senators and San Jose Sharks. However, his tenure with Chicago did not last long, as he was traded to the Vancouver Canucks on February 26, 2007 for a conditional second round draft pick. On July 2, 2007, Smolinski signed a one year contract with the Montreal Canadiens. On October 22, 2007, Smolinksi played in his 1,000 career game in a game against the Bruins.