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67-68seals
1967–68 Oakland Seals
Division 6th West
1967–68 record 15–42–17
Goals for 153
Goals against 219
Team information
General manager Bert Olmstead
Frank Selke Jr.
Coach Bert Olmstead
Gord Fashoway
Captain Bobby Baun
Alternate captains Wally Boyer
Billy Harris
Bert Marshall
Arena Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
Team leaders
Goals Bill Hicke (21)
Assists Charlie Burns (26)
Points Gerry Ehman (44)
Penalty minutes Tracy Pratt (90)
Wins Charlie Hodge (13)
Goals against average Charlie Hodge (2.86)

The 1967–68 Oakland Seals season was their 1st season in the NHL. The Seals finished last in the West Division and did not qualify for the playoffs.

Off-season[]

It began auspiciously, with the firing 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]

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[]

None of the Seals picks played in the NHL.

Round Pick Player Nationality College/Junior Team
1 3 Ken Hicks Flag of Canada Canada Brandon
2 12 Gary Wood Fort Frances
3 18 Kevin Smith Flag of Canada Canada Halifax (Junior)

Pre-season[]

BaunSeals

Bob Baun wearing the Seals pre-season jersey.

The Seals held their training camp in Port Huron, Michigan.

September 17, 1967: Minnesota North Stars 3, Oakland Seals 1 @ Port Huron, Michigan
September 23, 1967: Minnesota 4, Oakland 3 @ Kingston, Ontario
September 26, 1967: Minnesota 3, Oakland 3 @ Oshawa, Ontario
October 1, 1967: Oakland 3, Minnesota 2 @ Port Huron, Michigan

For the pre-season only, the Seals wore the jerseys of the San Francisco Seals of the Western Hockey League.

Regular Season[]

1967-Marshall jersey

Bert Marshall's California 1967 jersey.

The Seals started the season as the "California Seals" but changed their name to the "Oakland Seals" on December 8, 1967. The Seals inaugural jersey colours were green, white, and blue with a primarily green home jersey and a primarily white away jersey. The jerseys had two outlined stripes on the arms and body of the green jersey and three stripes on the white jersey. There were no names on the back, the jersey numbers were outlined and the sleeve numbers were on the shoulders.

1967-Marshall-Hodge jerseys

Bert Marshall and Charlie Hodge's Oakland 1967-68 jerseys.

The back number was blue for the "California Seals" period but changed to white when the team was renamed to the "Oakland Seals." The logo was a yellow, green and white cartoon seal with a black head against an "O". When the team was the "California Seals" the background was a "C". These jerseys would remain in use for one more season.

Despite moving the team away from their fan base in San Francisco, expectations were high with several sport writers predicting the Seals would finish first in the West Division mainly due to the drafting of high quality goalies and defense.

1967-Oct11-Goldsworthy-Hodge

Bill Goldsworthy scores the first goal at the Met Center, October 21, 1967.

The team started the season well, winning their first game 5-1 on October 11, 1967 over the Philadelphia Flyers with Kent Douglas scoring the first goal in franchise history. The Seals then beat the Minnesota North Stars 6-0 in their second game with Charlie Hodge earning the shutout.

However, the team then went on a 14 game winless streak. Workers were still installing seats in the Met Center on October 21, 1967, for the first game in the arena as the Seals were set to play against the Minnesota North Stars. The Seals lost 3-1 with Danny Grant scoring the winner. The streak finally ended with a 4-1 win over the Los Angeles Kings on November 15, 1967 but the Seals never recovered.

1968-Jan7-Ehman goal

First goal of Gerry Ehman's hat trick, January 7, 1968.

The Kings were the only team the Seals had some success against. In January 1968, Oakland won all three games versus Los Angeles, including shutting them out twice. Gerry Ehman had the Seals only Hat trick of the season in one of these games, on January 7, 1968 in a 6-0 win. The season series ended 4-4-2 between the teams.

On January 13, 1968, four minutes into a game against the Seals at the Met Center, North Stars center Bill Masterton was checked by Oakland's Larry Cahan and Ron Harris and fell backwards onto the ice head-first. The force of the back of his head hitting the ice damaged the pons and caused severe hemorrhaging, as blood gushed from his mouth and nose. Masterton was taken to hospital where he died two days later, becoming the only player ever to die as a result of an on-ice injury.

The Seals suffered from lack of goal scoring (finishing last in the league with a two goal a game average) and the worst attendance in the NHL. Coach Bert Olmstead clashed with the players due to his draconian style, often punishing the team with torturous practices after losses. With 21 games left in the season, assistant coach Gord Fashoway took over the reins but the Seals went 5-10-6 under him, including an 11 game winless streak to finish the season. The Seals finished last in the West Division and Olmstead and Fashoway were both fired after the season.

Final Standings[]

West Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Philadelphia Flyers 74 31 32 11 173 179 73
Los Angeles Kings 74 31 33 10 200 224 72
St. Louis Blues 74 27 31 16 177 191 70
Minnesota North Stars 74 27 32 15 191 226 69
Pittsburgh Penguins 74 27 34 13 195 216 67
Oakland Seals 74 15 42 17 153 219 47

Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, Pts = Points
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.


Game Log[]

Regular Season 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

Playoffs[]

  • The Seals did not qualify for the post season.

Player Stats[]

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

[2] 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
1 Charlie Hodge 58 3311 13 29 3 158 3 2.86 - - - - - - -
30 Gary Smith 21 1129 2 13 4 60 1 3.19 - - - - - - -

[2]

Awards and Records[]

  • The Seals did not win any awards this season.

Transactions[]

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

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
Additions
Player Former team Via
Jean Cusson Canadian national team Free agency
Subtractions
Player New team Via

Trivia[]

Gallery[]

References[]

This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at 1967–68 Oakland Seals season. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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