Floyd Smith (ice hockey)

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Floyd Smith
Born (1935-05-16) May 16, 1935 (age 89)
Perth, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Boston Bruins
New York Rangers
Detroit Red Wings
Toronto Maple Leafs
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 19541972

Floyd Robert Donald Smith [1] (born May 16, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and coach.

Contents

Biography

Smith grew up in Galt, Ontario, playing junior hockey with the Galt Black Hawks. He made his National Hockey League debut for the Boston Bruins, playing 3 games with the team in 1955, but he was mostly mired in the minors during the early portion of his career. He played 23 games with Boston over the next two seasons, while serving as a significant contributor[ citation needed ] on the Hershey Bears club. Smith then spent five years with the New York Rangers organization, reaching the NHL for a 29-game stint in 1961. During this period, he was a dominant force with the Springfield Indians, scoring 82 points in 71 games in 1960. [2]

In 1963, Smith finally earned a chance to become an NHL regular after being acquired by the Detroit Red Wings. He scored an NHL career-high 49 points during the 1965–66 season. He was part of a six-player blockbuster transaction in which he was traded along with Norm Ullman and Paul Henderson from the Red Wings to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Frank Mahovlich, Pete Stemkowski and Garry Unger on March 4, 1968. The Maple Leafs and Red Wings were in fifth and sixth place respectively at the bottom of the East Division standings at the time of the deal. [3] He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres during the 1970 expansion draft and served as the team's first captain. [4]

Smith became an assistant coach with the Sabres in 1972. The next year, he was hired as head coach of the team's top farm club, the AHL's Cincinnati Swords. He won a Calder Cup in the first of his two years with the team. In 1974, he became Buffalo's head coach, leading the team to a loss in the Stanley Cup Finals in his first year. However, the Sabres were eliminated in the second round the next two years, and he was fired at the end of the 1976-77 season.

He also coached the World Hockey Association's Cincinnati Stingers for the 1976–77 season and was Toronto Maple Leafs coach for the first 68 games of 1979–80 until being injured in a car accident on March 14, 1980, rendering him unable to fulfill his duties as coach for the remainder of the season. He remained with the Leafs as a scout until being promoted to general manager, a position he held for the 1989–90 and 1990–91 seasons.

Smith resides in southern Erie County, New York. [5]

Career statistics

   Regular season   Playoffs
Season TeamLeagueGP G A Pts PIM GPGAPtsPIM
1952–53 Galt Black Hawks OHA-Jr. 60110
1953–54 Ottawa Eastviews M-Cup 1289170
1954–55 Boston Bruins NHL 31010
1964–55 Galt Black HawksOHA-Jr.462940696041450
1955–56 Hershey Bears AHL 4910192931
1956–57 Boston BruinsNHL230006
1956–57 Hershey BearsAHL411225373260118
1957–58 Springfield Indians AHL702550756013211134
1958–59 Springfield IndiansAHL6825325734
1959–60 Springfield IndiansAHL71315182261015610
1960–61 New York Rangers NHL2959140
1960–61 Springfield IndiansAHL4019274626
1961–62 Springfield IndiansAHL6941367719110442
1962–63 Detroit Red Wings NHL519172610112354
1962–63 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL1687156
1963–64 Detroit Red WingsNHL5218133122144374
1963–64 Pittsburgh HornetsAHL2114173114
1964–65 Detroit Red WingsNHL671629454471344
1965–66 Detroit Red WingsNHL6621284920125274
1966–67 Detroit Red WingsNHL541114258
1966–67 Pittsburgh HornetsAHL13591410
1967–68 Detroit Red WingsNHL5718213914
1967–68 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL6617040000
1968–69 Toronto Maple LeafsNHL6415193422
1969–70 Toronto Maple LeafsNHL614141813
1970–71 Buffalo Sabres NHL776111746
1971–72 Buffalo SabresNHL60112
NHL totals6161291783072074812112316
AHL totals458190273463258403212424

Coaching record

TeamYearRegular SeasonPost Season
GWLTOTLPtsFinishResult
BUF 1971–72 1010-(51)6th in EastInterim head coach
BUF 1974–75 80491615-1131st in AdamsWon in quarter-finals (4-1 vs. CHI)
Won in semi-finals (4-2 vs. MTL)
Lost in Stanley Cup Finals (2-4 vs. PHI)
BUF 1975–76 80462113-1052nd in AdamsWon in preliminary round (2-1 vs. STL)
Lost in quarter-finals (2-4 vs. NYI)
BUF 1976–77 8048248-1042nd in AdamsWon in preliminary round (2-0 vs. MIN)
Lost in quarter-finals (0-4 vs. NYI)
CIN (WHA) 1978–79 8033416-726th in WHALost in quarter-finals (1-2 vs. NE)
TOR 1979–80 6830335-(75)4th in AdamsFired
BUF Total2411436236-3221 division title16-16 (0.500)
TOR Total6830335-650-0 (0.000)
NHL Total3091739441-3871 division title16-16 (0.500)
WHA Total8033416-721-2 (0.333)

References

  1. National Hockey League Guide and Record Book 1974-75, pg. 239
  2. "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Floyd Smith" . Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  3. "Mahovlich, Ullman Traded," The Edmonton Journal, Monday, March 4, 1968. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  4. "Floyd Smith NHL Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com" . Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  5. Harrington, Mike (October 6, 2019). "Everything old and new was golden for Sabres in home opener". The Buffalo News. Retrieved July 20, 2022.
Preceded by
Position created
Buffalo Sabres captain
1970–71
Succeeded by
Preceded by General manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs
198991
Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Buffalo Sabres
1971–72
Succeeded by
Joe Crozier
Preceded by Head coach of the Buffalo Sabres
1974–77
Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Cincinnati Stingers
1978–79
Succeeded by
none
Preceded by Head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs
1979–80
Succeeded by