Rick Dudley - Coaching Career

Coaching Career

Dudley began coaching the next year, 1982–1983, after retiring as a player. He coached in the ACHL, IHL, and AHL, before finally getting a head-coaching job in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres in the 1989–90 season. While coaching in the IHL, in 1988, he won the Commissioner's Trophy for the Coach of the Year. He coached the Sabres for three seasons before being fired in 1991–92. He then spent the next four seasons coaching three different teams in the IHL, and wouldn't make an NHL coaching appearance again until he was the mid-season replacement for the Florida Panthers in the 2003–04 season. He was the general manager of the Ottawa Senators in the 1998–99 season.