1968–69 Oakland Seals season



The 1968–69 Oakland Seals season was the Seals' second season in the NHL. For the first time in their history, they qualified for the Stanley Cup playoffs after finishing 2nd in the West Division (albeit with 7 more losses than wins). They were upset in the playoffs, losing in the Quarter-finals to the Los Angeles Kings 4 games to 3.

Off-season
The Seals jerseys were the same design as in the 1967-68 season.

The Seals made several significant acquisitions picking up Carol Vadnais in the intra-league draft and trading for Gary Jarrett and Norm Ferguson.

Pre-season
The Seals held their training camp at Oshawa, Ontario.

Regular Season
The 1968-69 season was the best in Seals franchise history, mainly due to a vastly improved offense. Rookie Norm Ferguson had his best NHL season, scored 34 goals and finished second in voting for the Calder Memorial Trophy. Ted Hampson led the team in scoring and also had his best NHL totals.

Carol Vadnais played his first full NHL season, leading the blueline with 42 points. François Lacombe played his only full NHL season but went on to play 440 games in the WHA. Off-season acquisition Gary Jarrett had 22 goals, joining Ferguson, Hampson, Bill Hicke, Gerry Ehman and Mike Laughton who had a 20 goal or more season.

Gary Smith played 54 games, had a superlative 2.96 GAA and 21 wins. The Seals finished second in the West Division and made the playoffs for the first time (of two total).

Skaters
Note: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalties in minutes †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 sgainst; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals against average

Awards and Records

 * Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy: Ted Hampson
 * Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Ted Hampson, Runner-up
 * Calder Memorial Trophy: Norm Ferguson, Runner-up

Transactions
The Seals were involved in the following transactions during the 1968–69 season:

Trivia

 * Seals who recorded a Hat trick this season include:
 * Norm Ferguson during the 5-3 loss to the Detroit Red Wings on January 25, 1968.
 * Brian Perry during the 5-2 win over the Chicago Black Hawks on February 19, 1968.