Sabres Hire Steve Smith

The Buffalo Sabres have added former NHLer Steve Smith as an assistant coach, the team announced Wednesday morning.

Smith, 55, comes to Buffalo from Carolina, where he spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach with the Hurricanes.

He has previously also worked with the Calgary Flames, Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers in various capacities, including as part of the coaching and scouting staff.

Smith joins head coach Phil Housley, associate coach Davis Payne and assistant coaches Chris Hajt and Tom Ward, alongside goalie coach Andrew Allen and video coach Mat Myers.

During his tenure with Carolina, Smith was primarily responsible for the defense and penalty kill.

Prior to his coaching/scouting career, Smith spent 16 seasons playing in the NHL. He thrice won the Stanley Cup and played a total of 804 regular-season games between 1984 and 2001.

Smith’s son, Barron, was selected 188th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2009 but never played with the Leafs organization. He has not played professionally since 2016.

Smith was born in Glasgow, Scotland. He is one of only a small handful of NHL players born in the United Kingdom, and appears to be the first member of the Buffalo Sabres coaching staff from the U.K.

Smith is infamous for his 1986 Stanley Cup Playoffs goal, where he inadvertently put the puck into his own net, costing his team a Game 7. However, the Oilers won the Cup the following season, and Smith - who was forgiven by fans & teammates alike - was one of the first players to hoist the Cup upon the win.