For the 1967-68 hockey season, the
National Hockey League added six expansion teams to double the number
of teams in the league. Although the six new franchises were dismal,
their odds of reaching the post-season were quite good. The NHL, in
all their wisdom, created two divisions, the East and West. In the
East, they placed all the existing ‘Original 6’ teams. In the
West were all the expansion clubs. No matter their record, the top
four in each division qualified for the playoffs.
That said, four of the six expansion
teams, despite none having a .500 record, saw their first playoff
action in their first year of existence. Because of the odd division
setup, one of these four teams would get a chance to play in the
Stanley Cup finals.
Here’s a little history into each of
the six 1967 expansion team’s first experience with the Stanley Cup
post-season, in no particular order.
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Penguins were slow out of the gate
and did not qualify for the playoffs until their third year in the
NHL. In 1969-70, Pittsburgh placed second in the West Division with
just 64 points in 76 games, 26 points behind the division leader, the
St. Louis Blues. During the regular season, the team was led
offensively by Dean Prentice with just 51 points in 75 games. The
Penguins were coached by Red Kelly.
Pittsburgh came up against the Oakland
Seals in the quarter-finals and swept the series in four games.
Oakland had finished the regular season fourth with 58 points. The
Seals were tied in points with the Philadelphia Flyers but were
awarded the final playoff spot on more wins. Two games were decided
by just one goal and the fourth game went into overtime. In the
semi-finals, the Penguins fell to St. Louis in six games.
In the post-season, Pittsburgh was led
by Michel Briere. The rookie had five goals and eight points in ten
games and was said by many to be on his way to super-stardom.
Unfortunately, in the off-season, Briere was involved in a car
accident that placed him in a coma. He died a year later.
Los Angeles Kings
The Kings finished their inaugural NHL
season with 72 points, placing second in the West, one point behind
the Philadelphia Flyers. Another Red Kelly coached team, Los Angeles
was led by Eddie Joyal during the regular season, contributing 57
points in 74 games.
Los Angeles came up against the
Minnesota North Stars in the quarter-finals and the series went the
full seven games. The Kings held a 3-2 lead in the series but
Minnesota won game six in overtime then blew out the Kings in game
seven, 9-4. L.A. was led offensively in the series by Lowell
MacDonald and Doug Robinson who totalled seven points each.
The Kings would win their first playoff
series the following year. In the 1968-69 Stanley Cup quarter-finals,
Los Angeles beat their California Rivals, the Oakland Seals, in seven
games to advance.
Philadelphia Flyers
The Flyers were the first of the six
1967 expansion teams to capture the Stanley Cup, but that wouldn’t
come until 1973-74. In 1967-68, Philadelphia qualified for the
post-season, finishing first in the West with just 73 points in 74
games. The team was led by Lou
Angotti with just 49 points in 70 games.
Philadelphia met the Blues in the
quarter-finals with the series going the full seven games before St.
Louis came out victorious. The Flyers were led offensively by Forbes
Kennedy and Andre
Lacroix with five points each. Philly would not win their first
playoff series until 1972-73 when they beat the North Stars 4-2 in
the quarter-finals.
St. Louis Blues
The Blues were the top expansion
franchise right out of the gate, reaching the Stanley Cup finals in
their first three years of existence. As mentioned earlier, the Blues
beat the Flyers in their first playoff series, a quarter-final
meeting that went the full seven games. St. Louis then took out
Minnesota in seven games to earn a berth in the Stanley Cup finals.
The Montreal Canadiens swept the Blues in four.
During the 1967-68 regular season, the
Blues finished third in the West with 70 points, just three points
out of first place. In regular season play, it was Red Berenson
leading the way with 51 points in 55 games. In the playoffs, a Hockey
Hall of Famer had his last kick at the can. Dickie Moore led the team
with 14 points over 18 games.
Oakland Seals
The Oakland Seals played in the Stanley
Cup playoffs just twice in an NHL existence that lasted from 1967-68
to just 1975-76. After that, the franchise moved to Ohio, where they
became the Cleveland Barons for two years. Somewhere in the Dallas Stars bloodlines lie this ill-fated California team.
Their first series came in 1968-69 when
they met the St. Louis Blues in the quarter-finals. The Seals
extended the series to seven but couldn’t conquer the Blues. During
the regular season, the Seals had their best year in their short
history, finishing second in the West with 69 points. The team was
led in the regular season by Ted Hampson with 75 points in 76 games.
In the post season, it was Earl Ingarfield leading the way with ten
points in seven games.
Oakland, later known as the California
Golden Seals, would reach the post season on just one other occasion.
In 1969-70, the Seals met the Pittsburgh Penguins in the
quarter-finals. The Penguins made haste with a four game sweep.
Minnesota North Stars
The direct descendant of the modern day
Dallas Stars, Minnesota clung to the fourth and final playoff spot in
their first year with 69 points in 74 games. The North Stars were led
during the regular season by Wayne Connelly with 56 points in 74
games.
Minnesota faced off against the Los
Angeles Kings in the quarter-finals and took the full seven games to
eliminate their foes. The North Stars then went another full seven
games in the semi-finals before falling to the St. Louis Blues. In
the post season, it was Bill
Goldsworthy leading the way with 15 points in 14 games.
