The Second Six (1967-1970)

The 1967/68 NHL season began with 12 teams. The expansion draft meant that these six new teams were eligible to select players from the Original Six teams who could protect 11 skaters and 1 goaltender from being picked. The increase by six teams was considered the largest professional sports expansion in history. The six additions played in the West division with the Original Six playing in the East division in the new 74 game season.



California Golden Seals- The California Golden Seals were one of the two new Californian franchises in the NHL that year. They started the 1967/68 season as the California Golden Seals in an attempt to appeal to fans in the San Francisco area, despite being located in Oakville, but mid-way through the season became known as the Oakland Seals. The name change was to move the focus to fans of the East Bay. The Seals did not amount to much success within their first three years, finishing bottom of the league in 1967/68 and struggling to draw the crowds expected. They did make the playoffs their second and third seasons but were beaten by both LA and Pittsburgh, respectively. In the 1970/71 season, their name would change back to the California Golden Seals after a brief spell as the Bay Area Seals.



Los Angeles Kings- The Los Angeles Kings were another of the two expansion teams located in California. The reason for having two expansion teams in this area was as a result of a television deal agreed with CBS which included the expansion of the league to 12 teams and two of the new franchises being in California. The Kings had first pick in the expansion draft with which they selected Maple Leafs goaltender Terry Sawchuck. The Kings got off to a better start in their first season, posting a 31-33-10 record and finishing second in their division.



Minnesota North Stars- The ‘state of hockey’ was awarded one of the six expansion franchises. The North Stars played their first home NHL game on October 21, 1967. Finishing fourth in the division that year, they captured the final playoff spot and made it to the semi-finals where they were beaten by the St Louis Blues.



Philadelphia Flyers- Each expansion team was required to pay a $2million fee. The Flyers almost missed the deadline to pay the fee thanks to a power cut disrupting communications with the bank. However, just before the deadline the Flyers got the cheque to NHL President Clarence Campbell. The Flyers would go on to top their division in their inaugural season.



Pittsburgh Penguins- Goaltender Les Binkley was one of the early heroes for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Though not selected in the expansion draft, he was acquired from the WHL’s San Diego Gulls and made his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins in their inaugural season. Despite finishing 5^th in the West division in their first two seasons, the Penguins went on to make the Cup semi-finals in 1970.



St Louis Blues- The St Louis Blues were the most successful of the expansion teams when it came to the playoffs. They were the first expansion team to make the Stanley Cup Final and made the final in each of their first three seasons, but each time were beaten by their Original Six opponent. In 1968/69, Blues goaltenders Hall and Plante would combine for the lowest goals against average and earn the Vezina Trophy.



Despite being the largest expansion in professional sports, the NHL was not done yet and would continue to expand, with the next expansion coming as early as 1970. The NHL continued and still continues today to bring hockey to different markets in the US and Canada as demand for hockey continues to grow. As well as this, the NHL brings their exciting brand of hockey to fans all over the globe, for example with their Global Series, and continues to increase exposure to the league. I will cover more on the next stages of NHL expansion in my next blog post.