When the Boston Bruins traded Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais to
the New York Rangers on November 7, 1975, the return package included
stars Brad Park and Jean Ratelle along with Joe Zanussi. It was one
of the biggest deals of the decade, and Vadnais quickly made his
presence felt on Broadway. In his first 22 games with New York, the
defenseman recorded two four-point performances.
One of those standout games came on January 4, 1976, when the
Rangers hosted the Toronto Maple Leafs at Madison Square Garden.
Vadnais opened his scoring at 4:50 of the second period, beating
Toronto goalie Wayne Thomas for his seventh goal of the 1975-76
season. The tally, assisted by Pete Stemkowski and Walt Tkaczuk,
briefly gave New York a 2-1 lead.
Toronto quickly seized control, however, scoring four straight
goals to take a commanding 5-2 lead into the third period.
Any thoughts of a quiet finish vanished almost immediately.
Vadnais struck again just 23 seconds into the final frame, with
assists from Rod Gilbert and Esposito. Later in the period, Lanny McDonald scored shorthanded for Toronto at 11:46, igniting a
remarkable stretch of offense. Over the next 2:33, the teams combined
for five goals, at the time the ninth-fastest sequence of five goals
in NHL history and still among the fastest ever recorded.
Vadnais assisted on the fourth goal of that flurry, Gilbert’s
13th of the season, before completing his hat trick at 19:09 with
helpers from Gilbert and Esposito. The late surge wasn’t enough to
overcome Toronto’s earlier outburst, and the Rangers fell 8-6 in
one of the season’s wildest games.
Despite the loss, Vadnais finished with three goals and an assist,
while Gilbert added a four-point night of his own with two goals and
two assists. Vadnais also led all shooters in the game with seven
shots on goal.
Tales from the New York Rangers Locker Room
A collection of the greatest Rangers stories ever told — insider tales featuring legends past and present.
The Califonia Golden Seals existed in the National Hockey League
for just a short nine year span from 1967-68 to 1975-76. Originally
dubbed the Oakland Seals, the team was one of six expansion teams to
enter the NHL for the 1967-68 season. Despite the fact that their
nine years were nothing more than dismal, several decent players
passed through the organization.
Harry Howell
Harry
Howell is the only player in the Hockey Hall of Fame that ever
dressed for the Golden Seals. Howell played just the 1969-70 season
and part of the 1970-71 season with the club after 17 years with the
New York Rangers. After 28 games in 1970-71, he was traded down the
California coast to the Los Angeles Kings. The 1966-67 Norris Trophy
winner was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1979.
Bryan Watson
Bryan
‘Bugsy’ Watson was best known for the time he spent in the
penalty box but he was also a decent defenseman. Now 41st on the
NHL’s all-time list of penalty minute leaders, he was once number
one. Watson finished his NHL career with 2212 PIM in 878 games.
Watson played one season with the Oakland Seals, 1968-69. His NHL
career spanned from 1963-64 to 1978-79, also playing for the Montreal
Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings
and Washington Capitals.
Bobby Baun
In the final season of the ‘Original Six’era, 1966-67, Bob Baun was the hero of the Toronto Maple Leafs Stanley Cup victory. The
following season, he was on the blue line for the Oakland Seals, a
team that won just 15 games. 1967-68 was the only season Baun spent
in California during a career that started in 1956-57 and ended after
the 1972-73 season. Baun also played three seasons with the Detroit
Red Wings.
Carol Vadnais
Carol
Vadnais played sparingly for the Montreal Canadiens during the
1966-67 and 1967-68 seasons. He became a regular in the NHL with the
Seals in 1968-69. Vadnais spent two years with California before
moving on to bigger and better things with the Boston Bruins. Carol
played a total of 1087 regular season NHL games between 1966-67 and
1982-83 with the Canadiens, Golden Seals, Bruins, New York Rangers
and New Jersey Devils.
Reg Leach
Drafted third overall by the Boston
Bruins in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft, Reggie
Leach never really caught on with the Big Bad Bruins, playing
just two partial seasons with the club in 1970-71 and part of 1971-72
and scoring just a total of nine goals. Playing with the California
Golden Seals until the end of the 1973-74 season, Leach’s goal
scoring ability began to blossom. It was with the Philadelphia Flyers
that Leach exploded. He scored 61 in 1975-76 and 50 in 1979-80. He
scored 19 in 16 playoff games in 1975-76 earning him the Conn Smythe
Trophy in a losing effort. He won two Stanley Cups with Philadelphia,
included a victory over the Bruins in 1974.
Charlie Simmer
Charlie Simmer was a third round pick of the Seals in the 1974 NHL
Draft. He was a seldom used forward by California and even by the
Cleveland Barons when the team was relocated there for the 1976-77
season. However, after being traded to the Los Angeles Kings in
1978-79 and being stuck on a line with Marcel Dionne and Dave Taylor,
Charlie showed the hockey world what he could do. Simmer scored 56
goals in each the 1979-80 and 1980-81 seasons as a member of the
Triple
Crown Line. Those goal totals were accomplished in just 64 and 65
games. Simmer played 712 NHL games with the Seals, Barons, Kings,
Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Dennis Maruk
In the 1975 NHL Amateur Draft, the last for the Golden Seals, they
finally got it right. In the second round, they drafted Dennis Maruk.
Maruk scored 30 goals in his rookie season and 36 with the Barons two
years later. He topped out with 60 goals and 136 points in a
Washington Capitals uniform in 1981-82. Dennis played 888 regular
season NHL games with the Seals/Barons/North Stars and Capitals and
scored 356 goals over that time.
A Bit More About The Team
The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) that existed from 1967 to 1976. Originally known as the California Seals, the team underwent a name change in 1970 to become the California Golden Seals. Based in Oakland, California, the Seals faced financial and on-ice challenges throughout their brief history.
The team struggled to achieve success in terms of playoff appearances and faced difficulties in building a dedicated fan base. Despite their challenges, the California Golden Seals are remembered for their distinctive green and gold jerseys and remain a unique part of NHL history.
The franchise ultimately relocated to Cleveland in 1976 and later merged with the Minnesota North Stars, ceasing to exist as an independent team.
