Hockey Trivia: NHL Franchise Relocations Of The 1970's, 1980's and 1990's

The 1960’s, 1970’s and 1980’s brought expansion to the National Hockey League. With the rapid growth, poor economy and lack of proper planning, there was quite a bit of movement among franchises in the 1970’s and 1980’s. Test and broaden your hockey knowledge with the following four trivia questions.

Q. The franchise that is now known as the New Jersey Devils came into the NHL in 1974-75 as what team?

A. The Kansas City Scouts are the origin of the New Jersey Devils. The Scouts lasted just two seasons in Kansas City before a short stint in Denver as the Colorado Rockies before moving east to become the Devils.

Over the two years, 1974-75 and 1975-76, the Scouts won a total of 27 of 160 regular season games. In the first year, they were second last in the NHL, ahead of only their expansion partners, the Washington Capitals. In 1975-76, Kansas City once again finished ahead of only the Capitals.

Simon Nolet served as team captain until midway through the second season when he was replaced by Guy Charron. The Scouts drafted Wilf Paiement second overall at the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. NHL legend Sid Abel had a brief three game stint as the team’s head coach.

Q. In 1976-77, what franchise moved to Cleveland and became the Barons?

A. The California Seals were a product of the first expansion boom in 1967-68. They left California to become the Barons and then merged with the Minnesota North Stars after just two seasons. In both those years, the Barons placed fourth in the Adams Division and did not qualify for the post season.

Despite having an arena that would seat 18,500 in Richfield Coliseum, the Barons averaged around 6,000 fans per game over the two years. At the time, Richfield Coliseum had the largest seating capacity of any National Hockey League venue.

Q. The Calgary Flames were born into the NHL as what team?

A. The Atlanta Flames joined the league in 1972-73 along with the New York Islanders. The deep south wasn’t ready for hockey and the Flames made the move to Calgary for the 1980-81 season. The Flames were a decent team, on the upper end of mediocrity.

Over their eight years in Atlanta, the team reached the post season in six, including their last five. However, they were never able to win a series in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

While in Atlanta, the Flames drafted some good talent in Tom Lysiak, Brad Marsh and Paul Reinhart. The four captains in Atlanta Flames history include Keith McCreary, Pat Quinn, Tom Lysiak and Jean Pronovost.

Q. The franchise currently known as the Dallas Stars originally was located in what northern U.S. city?

A. The Stars franchise was born in the 1967-68 NHL expansion as the Minnesota North Stars. The team uprooted and headed to the Lone Star State for the 1993-94 season. The move was not made due to a poor on-ice product. The North Stars reached the Stanley Cup finals twice in their time in Minnesota. In 1980-81, the team fell to the mighty New York Islanders 4-1 in the finals. In 1990-91, they reached the finals again but fell in six games to Mario Lemieux and the Pittsburgh Penguins.

 

The 1967-68 Los Angeles Kings: In the Beginning...

It all began for the Los Angeles Kings in 1967-68. The team was one of six to be admitted into the National Hockey League, doubling the league in size. It was the first time the NHL had consisted of more than six teams since the Brooklyn Americans folded after the 1941-42 season.

Like the other five expansion teams, the Kings were a rag-tag bunch of career AHL veterans, untested rookies and NHL players in the twilight of their careers. The six new teams were packed in the Western Division. The difference between first and fifth in the West was just six points. The Oakland Seals fell away from the pack, finishing with just 15 wins and 47 points.

Los Angeles finished second in the West in that first season with 72 points over 74 games, just one point behind the first place Philadelphia Flyers. The Kings lost their first ever playoff round to the Minnesota North Stars. The series went seven games with the North Stars romping 9-4 to oust the Kings at the Forum in L.A. Los Angeles held 2-0 and 3-2 leads in the series but could not hold on for the victory.

Eddie Joyal led the club in assists and points during the regular season with 34 and 57 while playing the full 74 game schedule. Joyal played his first NHL game in 1962-63 with the Detroit Red Wings and appeared sparingly through the years with Detroit and the Toronto Maple Leafs before becoming a regular with the Kings. He also played half a season with the Philadelphia Flyers before ending his pro career in the WHA with the Edmonton Oilers.

Bill Flett had been stuck in the minors since turning pro in 1963-64. 1967-68 was his first season in the NHL and he led the Kings in goals with 26. Flett went on to play nearly 900 major league games between the NHL and WHA. He left the Kings midway through the 1971-72 season for the Philadelphia Flyers. He also played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Atlanta Flames and Edmonton Oilers.

In goal, the Kings platooned a rookie and one of the greatest goaltenders to play the game. Wayne Rutledge played in 45 games in his first NHL season, while Terry Sawchuk played in 36. Rutledge was relegated to a backup role over the next two seasons with Los Angeles and eventually became a WHA mainstay, playing with the Houston Aeros during their entire history. Sawchuk, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, was on the downside of his great career and would play just 22 games over the next two seasons with the Detroit Red Wings and New York Rangers.

Brian Kilrea is also in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but for what he accomplished as a builder in the Ontario Hockey League. Previous to 1967-68, Killer had played just one NHL game, with the Red Wings in 1957-58. He played just 25 games with Los Angeles but one of his three goals with the club was the first ever scored for the franchise. Kilrea went on to coach the Ottawa 67’s from 1974 to 2009.

There was one other Hall of Famer on the team but he stood behind the bench. Head Coach Red Kelly had just come off a Stanley Cup victory as a player with the Toronto Maple Leafs the year before. After a career that spanned from 1947-48, Kelly retired after hoisting the Cup and took a different direction within the game. He coached the Kings for two seasons and went on to coach the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1970’s.

Anchoring the defense was one of many long time American Hockey League veterans getting their first start in the NHL. Bill White played in the AHL as early as 1959-60, while still a junior with the OHA’s Toronto Marlboros. He went on to play over 600 regular season games and nearly 100 playoff games in the NHL with Los Angeles and the Chicago Black Hawks.

Bill also ended up behind the bench after his playing career was over. He spent one year as head coach of Chicago in 1976-77 before two years in the OHA. In his first season behind the bench with the Oshawa Generals, he was named coach of the year.