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1967–68 Oakland Seals season

1967–68 Oakland Seals
Division6th West
1967–68 record15–42–17
Goals for153
Goals against219
Team information
General managerBert Olmstead (Oct–Mar)
Frank Selke Jr.(Mar–Apr)
CoachBert Olmstead
CaptainBobby Baun
Average attendance4,960
Team leaders
GoalsBill Hicke (21)
AssistsCharlie Burns (26)
PointsGerry Ehman (44)
Penalty minutesTracy Pratt (90)
WinsCharlie Hodge (13)
Goals against averageCharlie Hodge (2.86)

The 1967–68 Oakland Seals season was their first season in the National Hockey League (NHL). It began inauspiciously, with the firing of General Manager Rudy Pilous before the expansion draft.[1] The Seals started their inaugural season with Hall of Famer Bert Olmstead as both coach and general manager, assisted by Gord Fashoway.[1]

Season overview

Bert Olmstead, the Seals' first coach and general manager

The team began the season as the California Seals in an attempt to cater to a larger audience, but this did not work; it was changed on December 8, 1967, and the team became known as the Oakland Seals.[2] Despite winning the first two games of the season, the Seals won only 13 more en route to an NHL-worst record of 15–42–17. That gave the Seals 47 points, and they failed to qualify for the playoffs in their inaugural season in the NHL. Bert Olmstead served as the first coach and general manager of the team, though in early February 1968 he gave up coaching to his assistant coach, Gord Fashoway; in 43 games Olstead had a record of 10 wins, 32 losses, and 11 ties.[3]

The team was not strong financially; late in the season the ownership group, led by Barry Van Gerbig began to look at selling.[4] There were several interested groups, though two of them wanted to move the team to Canada, and as the NHL's new television contract called for a team in the San Francisco Bay area that was not possible.[5] Attendance was low, with an average of 4,960 people per game, and the team lost an estimated $1.8 million over the season.[6]

Offseason

Expansion draft

See also: 1967 NHL Expansion Draft
# Player Drafted from
1. Charlie Hodge (G) Montreal Canadiens
2. Gary Smith (G) Toronto Maple Leafs
3. Bob Baun (D) Toronto Maple Leafs
4. Kent Douglas (D) Toronto Maple Leafs
5. Bill Hicke (RW) New York Rangers
6. Billy Harris (W) Detroit Red Wings
7. Larry Cahan (D) New York Rangers
8. Wally Boyer (W) Chicago Black Hawks
9. Joe Szura (W) Montreal Canadiens
10. Bob Lemieux (D) Montreal Canadiens
11. J. P. Parise (LW) Boston Bruins
12. Ron Harris (D/W) Boston Bruins
13. Terry Clancy (W) Toronto Maple Leafs
14. Tracy Pratt (D) Chicago Black Hawks
15. Aut Erickson (D) Toronto Maple Leafs
16. Ron Boehm (W) New York Rangers
17. Alain Caron (W) Chicago Black Hawks
18. Mike Laughton (W) Toronto Maple Leafs
19. Bryan Hextall (W) New York Rangers
20. Gary Kilpatrick (D) Chicago Black Hawks

Amateur draft

Main article: 1967 NHL Amateur Draft
Round Pick Player Nationality College/junior/club team
1 3 Ken Hicks  Canada Brandon Wheat Kings (MJHL)
2 12 Gary Wood  Canada Fort Frances Royals (MJHL)
3 18 Kevin Smith  Canada Halifax Colonels (MVJBHL)

Regular season

On January 13, 1968, 4 minutes into a game against the Minnesota North Stars at the Met Center, Bill Masterton was checked by Larry Cahan and Ron Harris, and fell backwards onto the ice. The force of the back of his head hitting the ice caused significant internal bleeding. Masterton lost consciousness and never regained it: he died two days later.[7]

Final standings

West Division[8]
GP W L T GF GA DIFF Pts
1 Philadelphia Flyers 74 31 32 11 173 179 −6 73
2 Los Angeles Kings 74 31 33 10 200 224 −24 72
3 St. Louis Blues 74 27 31 16 177 191 −14 70
4 Minnesota North Stars 74 27 32 15 191 226 −35 69
5 Pittsburgh Penguins 74 27 34 13 195 216 −21 67
6 Oakland Seals 74 15 42 17 153 219 −66 47


Record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

No. R Date Score Opponent Record
1 W October 11, 1967 5–1 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 1–0–0
2 W October 14, 1967 6–0 Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 2–0–0
3 T October 18, 1967 2–2 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 2–0–1
4 L October 21, 1967 1–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 2–1–1
5 L October 22, 1967 2–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 2–2–1
6 L October 25, 1967 1–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 2–3–1
7 L October 26, 1967 2–8 @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 2–4–1
8 L October 28, 1967 2–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 2–5–1
9 T October 29, 1967 2–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 2–5–2
10 L November 1, 1967 0–2 New York Rangers (1967–68) 2–6–2
11 L November 4, 1967 0–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 2–7–2
12 T November 5, 1967 2–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 2–7–3
13 L November 7, 1967 4–5 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 2–8–3
14 L November 8, 1967 1–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 2–9–3
15 L November 11, 1967 1–2 @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 2–10–3
16 L November 12, 1967 3–5 @ New York Rangers (1967–68) 2–11–3
17 W November 15, 1967 4–1 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 3–11–3
18 T November 16, 1967 1–1 Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 3–11–4
19 W November 18, 1967 2–1 Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 4–11–4
20 L November 22, 1967 1–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 4–12–4
21 T November 25, 1967 2–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 4–12–5
22 L November 29, 1967 1–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 4–13–5
23 W November 30, 1967 3–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 5–13–5
24 L December 2, 1967 0–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 5–14–5
25 W December 6, 1967 4–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 6–14–5
26 L December 9, 1967 0–1 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 6–15–5
27 L December 13, 1967 1–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 6–16–5
28 W December 15, 1967 4–1 Boston Bruins (1967–68) 7–16–5
29 L December 16, 1967 0–1 Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 7–17–5
30 L December 19, 1967 1–3 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 7–18–5
31 L December 20, 1967 1–2 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 7–19–5
32 L December 23, 1967 2–4 @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 7–20–5
33 L December 25, 1967 3–6 @ Boston Bruins (1967–68) 7–21–5
34 T December 27, 1967 0–0 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 7–21–6
35 L December 30, 1967 0–2 @ Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 7–22–6
36 L December 31, 1967 0–3 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 7–23–6
37 L January 3, 1968 0–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 7–24–6
38 L January 4, 1968 3–9 @ Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 7–25–6
39 T January 6, 1968 5–5 Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 7–25–7
40 W January 7, 1968 6–0 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 8–25–7
41 T January 10, 1968 2–2 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 8–25–8
42 T January 13, 1968 2–2 @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 8–25–9
43 L January 14, 1968 3–6 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 8–26–9
44 T January 17, 1968 1–1 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 8–26–10
45 L January 20, 1968 0–3 New York Rangers (1967–68) 8–27–10
46 W January 21, 1968 3–0 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 9–27–10
47 W January 24, 1968 4–1 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 10–27–10
48 L January 27, 1968 1–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 10–28–10
49 L January 28, 1968 2–4 @ New York Rangers (1967–68) 10–29–10
50 T February 1, 1968 3–3 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 10–29–11
51 L February 3, 1968 1–4 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 10–30–11
52 L February 4, 1968 3–4 @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 10–31–11
53 L February 7, 1968 1–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 10–32–11
54 L February 10, 1968 2–5 Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 10–33–11
55 W February 11, 1968 4–3 Toronto Maple Leafs (1967–68) 11–33–11
56 W February 14, 1968 4–0 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 12–33–11
57 W February 17, 1968 3–1 Boston Bruins (1967–68) 13–33–11
58 L February 21, 1968 0–1 Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 13–34–11
59 W February 24, 1968 3–1 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 14–34–11
60 T February 25, 1968 3–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 14–34–12
61 W February 28, 1968 6–3 Minnesota North Stars (1967–68) 15–34–12
62 T March 2, 1968 6–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 15–34–13
63 T March 3, 1968 1–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 15–34–14
64 L March 6, 1968 0–2 Montreal Canadiens (1967–68) 15–35–14
65 L March 7, 1968 2–9 @ Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 15–36–14
66 L March 9, 1968 1–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 15–37–14
67 L March 10, 1968 0–1 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 15–38–14
68 L March 13, 1968 2–4 Detroit Red Wings (1967–68) 15–39–14
69 T March 15, 1968 1–1 @ St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 15–39–15
70 L March 17, 1968 1–4 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1967–68) 15–40–15
71 L March 20, 1968 1–5 Philadelphia Flyers (1967–68) 15–41–15
72 T March 23, 1968 3–3 St. Louis Blues (1967–68) 15–41–16
73 L March 27, 1968 4–7 Pittsburgh Penguins (1967–68) 15–42–16
74 T March 30, 1968 2–2 Los Angeles Kings (1967–68) 15–42–17

Player statistics

Skaters

Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
Gerry Ehman 8 73 19 25 44 20 – – – – –
Bill Hicke 9 52 21 19 40 32 – – – – –
Charlie Burns 20 73 9 26 35 20 – – – – –
Wally Boyer 6 74 13 20 33 44 – – – – –
Billy Harris 7 62 12 17 29 2 – – – – –
Ted Hampson† 10 34 8 19 27 4 – – – – –
Larry Cahan 5 74 9 15 24 80 – – – – –
Alain Caron 12 58 9 13 22 18 – – – – –
Larry Popein† 17 47 5 14 19 12 – – – – –
George Swarbrick 14 49 13 5 18 62 – – – – –
John Brenneman† 16 31 10 8 18 14 – – – – –
Kent Douglas‡ 19 40 4 11 15 80 – – – – –
Aut Erickson 4 65 4 11 15 46 – – – – –
Bob Baun 21 67 3 10 13 81 – – – – –
Gerry Odrowski 10 42 4 6 10 10 – – – – –
Ron Harris 15 54 4 6 10 60 – – – – –
Mike Laughton 22 35 2 6 8 38 – – – – –
Tracy Pratt 2 34 0 5 5 90 – – – – –
Joe Szura 18 20 1 3 4 10 – – – – –
Bert Marshall† 19 20 0 4 4 18 – – – – –
Ron Boehm 11 16 2 1 3 10 – – – – –
Tom Thurlby 3 20 1 2 3 4 – – – – –
Bob Lemieux 2 19 0 1 1 12 – – – – –
Gary Smith 30 21 0 1 1 4 – – – – –
Jean Cusson 22 2 0 0 0 0 – – – – –
Terry Clancy 17 7 0 0 0 2 – – – – –
Charlie Hodge 1 58 0 0 0 4 – – – – –

[10]

†Denotes player spent time with another team before joining Seals. Stats reflect time with the Seals only. ‡Traded mid-season

Goaltenders

Note: GP = Games played; TOI = Time on ice (minutes); W = Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; GA = Goals against; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

    Regular season   Playoffs
Player # GP TOI W L T GA SO GAA GP TOI W L GA SO GAA
Charlie Hodge 1 58 3311 13 29 3 158 3 2.86 – – – – – – –
Gary Smith 30 21 1129 2 13 4 60 1 3.19 – – – – – – –

[10]

Transactions

The Seals were involved in the following transactions during the 1967–68 season:

Trades

October 3, 1967 To California Seals
Gerry Ehman 		To Toronto Maple Leafs
Bryan Hextall Jr.
J. P. Parise
December, 1967 To Oakland Seals
Larry Popein 		To New York Rangers
cash
January 9, 1968 To Oakland Seals
John Brenneman
Ted Hampson
Bert Marshall 		To Detroit Red Wings
Kent Douglas

Playoffs

The Seals did not qualify for the playoffs

References

  1. ^ a b Seals: 1967–1968 Season Retrieved 2010-07-15
  2. ^ Currier 2017, p. 52
  3. ^ Currier 2017, p. 61
  4. ^ Currier 2017, p. 63
  5. ^ Currier 2017, pp. 64–65
  6. ^ Currier 2017, p. 67
  7. ^ Currier 2017, pp. 56–57
  8. ^ "1967–1968 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
  9. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  10. ^ a b Oakland Seals (1967–1969) 1967 Stats, History, Awards and More Archived 2011-07-08 at the Wayback Machine

Bibliography

  • Currier, Steve (2017), The California Golden Seals: A Tale of White Skates, Red Ink, and One of the NHL's Most Outlandish Teams, Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, ISBN 978-0-8032-8848-5
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