1970–71 California Golden Seals season

1970–71 California Golden Seals
Division	7th West
1970–71 record	20–53–5
Home record	17–21–1
Road record	3–32–4
Goals for	199
Goals against	320
Team information
General manager	Frank Selke Jr. Bill Torrey Fred Glover
Coach	Fred Glover
Captain	Ted Hampson Carol Vadnais
Arena	Oakland Coliseum Arena
Average attendance	5,358
Team leaders
Goals	Ernie Hicke (22)
Assists	Dennis Hextall (31)
Points	Dennis Hextall (52)
Penalty minutes	Dennis Hextall (217)
Wins	Gary Smith (19)
Goals against average	Gary Smith (3.86)
←  1969–70 1971–72  →

The 1970–71 California Golden Seals season was the Seals' fourth in the NHL, but their first as the Golden Seals. Oakland Athletics owner Charlie O. Finley bought the team ^[1] in the offseason for approximately $4,500,000. He announced a name change in which his team would be called the Bay Area Seals. On October 16, after the first two games of the season, Finley changed the name once again. The team became known as the California Golden Seals in an attempt to draw fans from across the state of California, in particular from nearby San Francisco. Along with the name change came new green and gold colours, and a new logo and uniforms.

Several other changes occurred in the Seals' front office after Finley bought the team. Unhappy, General Manager Frank Selke Jr. quit in October 1970. His replacement, Bill Torrey, lasted only a month before resigning himself. Coach Fred Glover took over the responsibilities of General Manager after Torrey's departure in November.

Amidst the shake-up of the Seals from a business point of view the on-ice performance of the team suffered greatly. The team finished the season with an NHL-worst record of 20-53-5 (45 points). It was the worst season in their history up to that point in time, and the 53 losses set an NHL record (since surpassed). ^[2] The Seals record was worse than both of the two expansion teams that season, the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks.

On May 22, 1970, The Seals made a trade with the Montreal Canadiens that would come back to haunt the franchise for the rest of their existence. In the trade, the Seals sent defenseman Francois Lacombe along with their first round draft pick in 1971 to the Montreal Canadiens for Ernie Hicke and Montreal's first round pick. Since the Seals finished with the NHL's worst record that season, that gave the Canadiens the first overall pick in the 1971 draft which they used to select future hall of famer Guy Lafleur.

Captain Ted Hampson was traded to the Minnesota North Stars late in the season, and was replaced by Carol Vadnais.

Offseason

Amateur draft

Main article: 1970 NHL Amateur Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team
1	10.	Chris Oddleifson	Canada	Winnipeg Jets (WCHL)
2	19.	Pete Laframboise	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHA)
3	33.	Randy Rota	Canada	Calgary Centennials (WCHL)
4	47.	Ted McAneeley	Canada	Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL)
5	61.	Ray Gibbs	Canada	Charlottetown (Senior)
6	75.	Doug Moyes	Canada	Sorel Black Hawks (QMJHL)
7	88.	Terry Murray	Canada	Ottawa 67's (OHA)
8	100.	Alan Henry	Canada	University of North Dakota (NCAA)

Regular season

Standings

West Division ^[3]

• v
• t
• e

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	Chicago Black Hawks	78	49	20	9	277	184	+93	107
2	St. Louis Blues	78	34	25	19	223	208	+15	87
3	Philadelphia Flyers	78	28	33	17	207	225	−18	73
4	Minnesota North Stars	78	28	34	16	191	223	−32	72
5	Los Angeles Kings	78	25	40	13	239	303	−64	63
6	Pittsburgh Penguins	78	21	37	20	221	240	−19	62
7	California Golden Seals	78	20	53	5	199	320	−121	45

Record vs. opponents

Vs. West Division 1970–71 NHL records [4] Team CAL CHI LAK MIN PHI PIT STL Total California — 1–5 1–5 2–4 2–3–1 1–4–1 1–4–1 8–25–3 Chicago 5–1 — 4–2 3–2–1 4–1–1 4–2 2–1–3 22–9–5 Los Angeles 5–1 2–4 — 0–5–1 1–2–3 4–2 2–4 14–18–4 Minnesota 4–2 2–3–1 5–0–1 — 1–2–3 3–1–2 3–1–2 18–9–9 Philadelphia 3–2–1 1–4–1 2–1–3 2–1–3 — 3–1–2 1–3–2 12–12–12 Pittsburgh 4–1–1 2–4 2–4 1–3–2 1–3–2 — 0–3–3 10–18–8 St. Louis 4–1–1 1–2–3 4–2 1–3–2 3–1–2 3–0–3 — 16–9–11

Vs. East Division 1970–71 NHL records Team BOS BUF DET MTL NYR TOR VAN Total California 1–5 3–3 2–4 1–5 2–3–1 2–3–1 1–5 12–28–2 Chicago 3–2–1 5–0–1 6–0 3–3 3–3 2–3–1 5–0–1 27–11–4 Los Angeles 1–5 1–2–3 2–1–3 2–4 0–4–2 3–3 2–3–1 11–22–9 Minnesota 0–5–1 1–5 3–2–1 1–3–2 0–6 2–2–2 3–2–1 10–25–7 Philadelphia 0–6 3–2–1 2–3–1 1–4–1 3–2–1 3–2–1 4–2 16–21–5 Pittsburgh 1–4–1 0–2–4 3–1–2 1–3–2 0–5–1 2–3–1 4–1–1 11–19–12 St. Louis 1–4–1 4–2 5–0–1 1–3–2 2–3–1 2–3–1 3–1–2 18–16–8

Schedule and results

1970–71 regular season [5]
October Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 1 L October 10, 1970 3–5 @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 0–1–0 2 L October 11, 1970 1–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 0–2–0 3 L October 16, 1970 1–5 Boston Bruins (1970–71) 0–3–0 4 L October 17, 1970 1–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 0–4–0 5 L October 20, 1970 1–2 @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 0–5–0 6 T October 21, 1970 2–2 St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 0–5–1 7 L October 23, 1970 1–3 Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 0–6–1 8 T October 25, 1970 2–2 @ New York Rangers (1970–71) 0–6–2 9 L October 28, 1970 2–3 @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 0–7–2 10 W October 30, 1970 6–1 Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 1–7–2
November Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 11 W November 4, 1970 3–1 New York Rangers (1970–71) 2–7–2 12 W November 6, 1970 8–4 Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 3–7–2 13 W November 11, 1970 2–0 Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 4–7–2 14 L November 13, 1970 2–4 @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 4–8–2 15 L November 14, 1970 1–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 4–9–2 16 W November 15, 1970 2–1 @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) 5–9–2 17 L November 17, 1970 1–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 5–10–2 18 L November 19, 1970 2–6 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 5–11–2 19 L November 21, 1970 3–5 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 5–12–2 20 L November 22, 1970 0–9 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 5–13–2 21 L November 25, 1970 1–3 Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 5–14–2 22 L November 27, 1970 2–3 Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 5–15–2 23 W November 29, 1970 2–1 @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 6–15–2
December Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 24 L December 2, 1970 2–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 6–16–2 25 L December 4, 1970 0–4 Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 6–17–2 26 W December 9, 1970 6–1 Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 7–17–2 27 L December 11, 1970 1–2 New York Rangers (1970–71) 7–18–2 28 L December 12, 1970 2–5 @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 7–19–2 29 W December 16, 1970 4–2 Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 8–19–2 30 W December 18, 1970 1–0 Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 9–19–2 31 W December 20, 1970 7–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 10–19–2 32 W December 22, 1970 5–2 Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 11–19–2 33 L December 26, 1970 3–9 @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 11–20–2 34 L December 29, 1970 2–3 @ New York Rangers (1970–71) 11–21–2 35 L December 30, 1970 1–3 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 11–22–2
January Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 36 L January 2, 1971 3–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 11–23–2 37 L January 3, 1971 2–3 @ Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 11–24–2 38 W January 6, 1971 6–3 St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 12–24–2 39 L January 9, 1971 3–5 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 12–25–2 40 L January 10, 1971 4–7 @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) 12–26–2 41 L January 12, 1971 2–8 @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 12–27–2 42 T January 13, 1971 1–1 @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 12–27–3 43 W January 15, 1971 3–1 New York Rangers (1970–71) 13–27–3 44 L January 17, 1971 1–3 Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 13–28–3 45 L January 20, 1971 2–4 Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 13–29–3 46 W January 22, 1971 5–2 Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 14–29–3 47 L January 24, 1971 3–5 @ Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 14–30–3 48 W January 27, 1971 6–2 Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 15–30–3 49 L January 29, 1971 2–4 Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 15–31–3 50 L January 31, 1971 1–7 @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 15–32–3
February Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 51 L February 3, 1971 1–6 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 15–33–3 52 L February 5, 1971 2–3 Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 15–34–3 53 L February 7, 1971 2–5 Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 15–35–3 54 W February 10, 1971 5–1 Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 16–35–3 55 L February 12, 1971 0–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1970–71) 16–36–3 56 L February 13, 1971 2–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 16–37–3 57 L February 16, 1971 1–5 @ St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 16–38–3 58 L February 17, 1971 2–3 @ Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 16–39–3 59 L February 19, 1971 0–5 Boston Bruins (1970–71) 16–40–3 60 W February 20, 1971 5–3 Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 17–40–3 61 L February 24, 1971 2–5 Montreal Canadiens (1970–71) 17–41–3 62 L February 26, 1971 1–3 Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 17–42–3 63 L February 28, 1971 3–8 Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 17–43–3
March Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 64 L March 3, 1971 1–8 @ New York Rangers (1970–71) 17–44–3 65 L March 4, 1971 0–7 @ Boston Bruins (1970–71) 17–45–3 66 T March 6, 1971 4–4 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1970–71) 17–45–4 67 T March 7, 1971 3–3 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 17–45–5 68 L March 10, 1971 1–8 Boston Bruins (1970–71) 17–46–5 69 L March 14, 1971 5–8 Detroit Red Wings (1970–71) 17–47–5 70 W March 17, 1971 5–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1970–71) 18–47–5 71 L March 19, 1971 2–5 Chicago Black Hawks (1970–71) 18–48–5 72 W March 21, 1971 5–2 Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 19–48–5 73 L March 24, 1971 0–6 Toronto Maple Leafs (1970–71) 19–49–5 74 L March 26, 1971 5–8 St. Louis Blues (1970–71) 19–50–5 75 L March 28, 1971 5–11 @ Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 19–51–5 76 W March 31, 1971 4–1 Minnesota North Stars (1970–71) 20–51–5
April Game Result Date Score Opponent Record 77 L April 2, 1971 2–7 Vancouver Canucks (1970–71) 20–52–5 78 L April 3, 1971 4–6 @ Los Angeles Kings (1970–71) 20–53–5
Legend:   Win (2 points)  Loss (0 points)  Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

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
Dennis Hextall	22		78	21	31	52	217		–	–	–	–	–
Ernie Hicke	20		78	22	25	47	62		–	–	–	–	–
Gary Croteau	18		74	15	28	43	12		–	–	–	–	–
Gerry Ehman	8		78	18	18	36	16		–	–	–	–	–
Bill Hicke	9		74	18	17	35	41		–	–	–	–	–
Gary Jarrett	12		75	15	19	34	40		–	–	–	–	–
Ron Stackhouse	21		78	8	24	32	73		–	–	–	–	–
Norm Ferguson	17		54	14	17	31	9		–	–	–	–	–
Ted Hampson‡	10		60	10	20	30	14		–	–	–	–	–
Carol Vadnais	5		42	10	16	26	91		–	–	–	–	–
Don O'Donoghue	11		43	11	9	20	10		–	–	–	–	–
Tom Williams†	26		18	7	10	17	8		–	–	–	–	–
Doug Roberts	2		78	4	13	17	94		–	–	–	–	–
Tony Featherstone	16		67	8	8	16	44		–	–	–	–	–
Joe Hardy	14		40	4	10	14	31		–	–	–	–	–
Wayne Muloin‡	4		66	0	14	14	32		–	–	–	–	–
Earl Ingarfield	7		49	5	8	13	4		–	–	–	–	–
Dick Mattiussi	6		67	3	8	11	38		–	–	–	–	–
Harry Howell‡	3		28	0	9	9	14		–	–	–	–	–
Bert Marshall	19		32	2	6	8	48		–	–	–	–	–
Dick Redmond†	4		11	2	4	6	12		–	–	–	–	–
Paul Andrea‡	23		9	1	0	1	2		–	–	–	–	–
Mike Laughton	15		25	1	0	1	2		–	–	–	–	–
Gary Smith	1		71	0	1	1	6		–	–	–	–	–
Bob Sneddon	30		5	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–
Chris Worthy	30		11	0	0	0	2		–	–	–	–	–
Hilliard Graves	23		14	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–
Barry Boughner	24		16	0	0	0	9		–	–	–	–	–

†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
Gary Smith	1		71	3975	19	48	4	256	2	3.86		–	–	–	–	–	–	-.--
Chris Worthy	30		11	480	1	3	1	39	0	4.87		–	–	–	–	–	–	-.--
Bob Sneddon	30		5	225	0	2	0	21	0	5.60		–	–	–	–	–	–	-.--

Awards and records

• Gary Smith, most losses by a goaltender in one season (48) ^[6]

Transactions

The Seals were involved in the following transactions during the 1970–71 season:

Trades

May 22, 1970	To Oakland Seals Dennis Hextall	To Montreal Canadiens cash
May 22, 1970	To Oakland Seals Ernie Hicke 1st round pick in 1970 (Chris Oddleifson)	To Montreal Canadiens Francois Lacombe 1st round pick in 1971 (Guy Lafleur)
October, 1970	To California Golden Seals cash	To Phoenix Roadrunners (WHL) Gerry Odrowski
February 5, 1971	To California Golden Seals cash	To Los Angeles Kings Harry Howell
March 7, 1971	To California Golden Seals Dick Redmond Tom Williams	To Minnesota North Stars Ted Hampson Wayne Muloin

Additions and subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Bob Sneddon Los Angeles Kings Reverse Draft (1970–06) Gary Croteau Detroit Red Wings Intra-league Draft (1970–06–09) Paul Andrea Vancouver Canucks Intra-league Draft (1970–06–09) Hilliard Graves Charlottetown Islanders (PEI Jr.) free agency (1970–10)

Subtractions Player New team Via Bob Dillabough Vancouver Canucks Expansion Draft (1970–06–10) Charlie Hodge Vancouver Canucks Expansion Draft (1970–06–10) Howie Menard Buffalo Sabres Expansion Draft (1970–06–10) Brian Perry Buffalo Sabres Expansion Draft (1970–06–10) Paul Andrea Buffalo Sabres waivers (1970–11–04)

References

• Golden Seals on Hockey Database
• Golden Seals on Database Hockey

1. Charlie Finley: The Outrageous Story of Baseball's Super Showman, p.201, G. Michael Green and Roger D. Launius. Walker Publishing Company, New York, 2010, ISBN   978-0-8027-1745-0
2. Currier 2017 , p. 146
3. "1970–1971 Division Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". National Hockey League.
4. "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
5. "1970-71 California Golden Seals Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved March 23, 2025.
6. National Hockey League Official Guide and Record Book 2006, p. 188, Dan Diamond & Associates, Toronto, Ontario, ISBN   0-920445-98-5.

Bibliography

• Currier, Steve (2017), The California Golden Seals: A Tale of White Skates, Red Ink, and One of the NHL's Most Outlandish Teams, Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, ISBN   978-0-8032-8848-5