Buffalo Sabres: Top 5 Head Coaches of all Time

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May 26, 2016; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly waits to present the Prince of Wales trophy to Pittsburgh Penguins after the Penguins defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning to win the Eastern Conference Championship in game seven of the Eastern Conference Final of the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the CONSOL Energy Center. The Penguins won the game 2-1 and the Eastern Conference Championship four games to three. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports /

2) Floyd Smith

Regular season: 143-62-36

Playoffs: 16-16

If people want to question the sanity of placing Smith ahead of Bowman, fine. However, remember this is about what they achieved in Western New York, not anywhere else.

Of course, even this will have some of you perplexed, given that Bowman had more regular season and playoff wins during his time in Buffalo. Regardless, we still believe the Sabres former (and indeed first) captain deserves his ranking as the second-best head coach in franchise history.

For a start, Smith took the team to their first ever Stanley Cup final, an impressive achievement with an organization in just their fifth year of existence. Unfortunately, the fell just short, losing 4-2 to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Overall, the 81-year old went to the playoffs all three full seasons he was in charge. (He coached one game in an interim position, during the 1971-72 campaign.) In fact, you have to wonder how much more he could have achieved if he wasn’t unfairly sacked, for what was perceived as failure to perform better in the postseason.

Next: Tough to argue with number 1

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