Floyd Robert Donald Smith[1] (born May 16, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and coach.
| Floyd Smith | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
May 16, 1935 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 | ||
Biography
editSmith 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- ^ National Hockey League Guide and Record Book 1974-75, pg. 239
- ^ "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Floyd Smith". Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ "Mahovlich, Ullman Traded," The Edmonton Journal, Monday, March 4, 1968. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
- ^ "Floyd Smith NHL Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". Retrieved September 24, 2016.
- ^ 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- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database