Floyd Smith

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Floyd Smith
Born (1935-05-16) May 16, 1935 (age 88)
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 1954–1972

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

Biography[edit]

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.[1]

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

Career statistics[edit]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1952–53 Galt Black Hawks OHA-Jr. 6 0 1 1 0
1953–54 Ottawa Eastviews M-Cup 12 8 9 17 0
1954–55 Boston Bruins NHL 3 1 0 1 0
1964–55 Galt Black Hawks OHA-Jr. 46 29 40 69 60 4 1 4 5 0
1955–56 Hershey Bears AHL 49 10 19 29 31
1956–57 Boston Bruins NHL 23 0 0 0 6
1956–57 Hershey Bears AHL 41 12 25 37 32 6 0 1 1 8
1957–58 Springfield Indians AHL 70 25 50 75 60 13 2 11 13 4
1958–59 Springfield Indians AHL 68 25 32 57 34
1959–60 Springfield Indians AHL 71 31 51 82 26 10 1 5 6 10
1960–61 New York Rangers NHL 29 5 9 14 0
1960–61 Springfield Indians AHL 40 19 27 46 26
1961–62 Springfield Indians AHL 69 41 36 77 19 11 0 4 4 2
1962–63 Detroit Red Wings NHL 51 9 17 26 10 11 2 3 5 4
1962–63 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 16 8 7 15 6
1963–64 Detroit Red Wings NHL 52 18 13 31 22 14 4 3 7 4
1963–64 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 21 14 17 31 14
1964–65 Detroit Red Wings NHL 67 16 29 45 44 7 1 3 4 4
1965–66 Detroit Red Wings NHL 66 21 28 49 20 12 5 2 7 4
1966–67 Detroit Red Wings NHL 54 11 14 25 8
1966–67 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 13 5 9 14 10
1967–68 Detroit Red Wings NHL 57 18 21 39 14
1967–68 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 6 6 1 7 0 4 0 0 0 0
1968–69 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 64 15 19 34 22
1969–70 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 61 4 14 18 13
1970–71 Buffalo Sabres NHL 77 6 11 17 46
1971–72 Buffalo Sabres NHL 6 0 1 1 2
NHL totals 616 129 178 307 207 48 12 11 23 16
AHL totals 458 190 273 463 258 40 3 21 24 24

Coaching record[edit]

Team Year Regular Season Post Season
G W L T OTL Pts Finish Result
BUF 1971–72 1 0 1 0 - (51) 6th in East Interim head coach
BUF 1974–75 80 49 16 15 - 113 1st in Adams Won 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 80 46 21 13 - 105 2nd in Adams Won in preliminary round (2-1 vs. STL)
Lost in quarter-finals (2-4 vs. NYI)
BUF 1976–77 80 48 24 8 - 104 2nd in Adams Won in preliminary round (2-0 vs. MIN)
Lost in quarter-finals (0-4 vs. NYI)
CIN (WHA) 1978–79 80 33 41 6 - 72 6th in WHA Lost in quarter-finals (1-2 vs. NE)
TOR 1979–80 68 30 33 5 - (75) 4th in Adams Fired
BUF Total 241 143 62 36 - 322 1 division title 16-16 (0.500)
TOR Total 68 30 33 5 - 65 0-0 (0.000)
NHL Total 309 173 94 41 - 387 1 division title 16-16 (0.500)
WHA Total 80 33 41 6 - 72 1-2 (0.333)

References[edit]

  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.

External links[edit]

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