Bobby Smith is one of those guys who probably gets underrated by the current generation, but still. Lecavalier was clearly the more impactful player.
Let me put this this way. Lecavalier:
- Played in 45 more games, scoring 64 more goals, 151 fewer assists, for a total of 87 fewer points
- Did this while playing in a MUCH MUCH lower scoring era. HR's adjusted numbers aren't perfect, but they have VL scoring the equivalent of 186-26-212 more than BS in those 45 games.
- Had a season where he was a serious Hart contender, which Smith never was.
- Captained his team for 6 years (in total, including a one-off season when he was 19). Pretty sure Smith wore an A for 2-3 years and that was it.
I guess you could argue that Smith was a marginally better playmaker, but that's a really close argument and the only thing he has.