Floyd Smith

For other uses, see Floyd Smith (disambiguation).

Floyd Smith
Born	(1935-05-16) May 16, 1935 Perth, ON, CAN
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 (born May 16, 1935 in Perth, Ontario) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and coach.

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 on the Hershey Bears club. Smith then spent 5 years with the New York Rangers organization, cracking the NHL for only a 29-game stint in 1961. During this time period, he was a dominant force with the Springfield Indians, scoring 82 points in 71 games in 1960.

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. At the 1968 trade deadline, he was sent to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was selected by the Buffalo Sabres during the 1970 expansion draft and served as the team's first captain.

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 year's with the team. In 1974, he became Buffalo's head coach, leading the team to a loss in the Stanley Cup Final in his first year. However, he was fired after, despite great regular seasons, the team failed to perform in the post season during the next two years. 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 the 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]

Coaching record

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	Lost in Stanley Cup Finals
BUF	1975–76	80	46	21	13	-	105	2nd in Adams	Lost in Second round
BUF	1976–77	80	48	24	8	-	104	2nd in Adams	Lost in Second round
CIN (WHA)	1978–79	80	33	41	6	-	72	6th in WHA	Lost in First round
TOR	1979–80	68	30	33	5	-	(75)	4th in Adams
NHL Total		309	173	94	41

External links

• Floyd Smith's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Position created	Buffalo Sabres captain 1970–71	Succeeded by Gerry Meehan
Preceded by Gord Stellick	General Manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs 1989–91	Succeeded by Cliff Fletcher
Preceded by Punch Imlach	Head coach of the Buffalo Sabres 1971–72	Succeeded by Joe Crozier
Preceded by Joe Crozier	Head coach of the Buffalo Sabres 1974–77	Succeeded by Marcel Pronovost
Preceded by Jerry Rafter	Head coach of the Cincinnati Stingers 1978–79	Succeeded by none
Preceded by Roger Neilson	Head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs 1979–80	Succeeded by Dick Duff