1968–69 Oakland Seals season

1968–69 Oakland Seals
Division	2nd West
1968–69 record	29–36–11
Goals for	219
Goals against	251
Team information
General manager	Frank Selke, Jr.
Coach	Fred Glover
Captain	Ted Hampson
Arena	Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum Arena
Team leaders
Goals	Norm Ferguson (34)
Assists	Ted Hampson (49)
Points	Ted Hampson (75)
Penalty minutes	Carol Vadnais (151)
Wins	Gary Smith (21)
Goals against average	Gary Smith (2.96)

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

Offseason

Amateur draft

Main article: 1968 NHL Amateur Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Nationality	College/junior/club team
2	13.	Doug Smith (C)	Canada	Winnipeg Jets (WCJHL)
3	20.	Jim Trewin (D)	Canada	Flin Flon Bombers (WCJHL)

Regular season

Final standings

West Division

		GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	DIFF	Pts
1	St. Louis Blues	76	37	25	14	204	157	+47	88
2	Oakland Seals	76	29	36	11	219	251	−32	69
3	Philadelphia Flyers	76	20	35	21	174	225	−51	61
4	Los Angeles Kings	76	24	42	10	185	260	−75	58
5	Pittsburgh Penguins	76	20	45	11	189	252	−63	51
6	Minnesota North Stars	76	18	43	15	189	270	−81	51

Schedule and results

No.	R	Date	Score	Opponent	Record
1	L	October 11, 1968	1–5	Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	0–1–0
2	T	October 13, 1968	4–4	Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	0–1–1
3	L	October 16, 1968	1–2	Boston Bruins (1968–69)	0–2–1
4	L	October 19, 1968	1–4	@ St. Louis Blues (1968–69)	0–3–1
5	W	October 20, 1968	4–3	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	1–3–1
6	W	October 22, 1968	3–2	@ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	2–3–1
7	L	October 23, 1968	1–6	@ New York Rangers (1968–69)	2–4–1
8	L	October 25, 1968	2–4	Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	2–5–1
9	T	October 27, 1968	2–2	Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	2–5–2
10	W	November 1, 1968	5–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	3–5–2
11	L	November 3, 1968	1–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	3–6–2
12	L	November 8, 1968	2–3	New York Rangers (1968–69)	3–7–2
13	L	November 10, 1968	1–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	3–8–2
14	L	November 12, 1968	1–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	3–9–2
15	W	November 13, 1968	2–1	Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	4–9–2
16	T	November 16, 1968	3–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	4–9–3
17	L	November 17, 1968	3–6	@ Boston Bruins (1968–69)	4–10–3
18	L	November 20, 1968	0–7	@ St. Louis Blues (1968–69)	4–11–3
19	L	November 21, 1968	1–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	4–12–3
20	W	November 23, 1968	2–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	5–12–3
21	L	November 24, 1968	2–3	@ New York Rangers (1968–69)	5–13–3
22	T	November 27, 1968	3–3	@ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	5–13–4
23	W	November 29, 1968	5–4	Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	6–13–4
24	T	December 1, 1968	4–4	Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	6–13–5
25	W	December 6, 1968	4–0	Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	7–13–5
26	L	December 8, 1968	1–4	Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	7–14–5
27	W	December 12, 1968	6–0	Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	8–14–5
28	L	December 14, 1968	1–3	@ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	8–15–5
29	L	December 15, 1968	4–7	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	8–16–5
30	W	December 17, 1968	3–2	@ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	9–16–5
31	L	December 18, 1968	2–5	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	9–17–5
32	L	December 20, 1968	0–1	St. Louis Blues (1968–69)	9–18–5
33	W	December 22, 1968	2–1	Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	10–18–5
34	W	December 25, 1968	3–1	@ Boston Bruins (1968–69)	11–18–5
35	L	December 26, 1968	1–3	@ New York Rangers (1968–69)	11–19–5
36	W	December 28, 1968	4–3	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	12–19–5
37	W	December 29, 1968	2–1	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	13–19–5
38	L	January 1, 1969	3–7	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	13–20–5
39	L	January 3, 1969	1–3	St. Louis Blues (1968–69)	13–21–5
40	T	January 5, 1969	0–0	Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	13–21–6
41	L	January 9, 1969	4–8	@ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	13–22–6
42	W	January 11, 1969	4–2	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	14–22–6
43	L	January 12, 1969	1–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	14–23–6
44	W	January 15, 1969	4–3	Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	15–23–6
45	L	January 17, 1969	1–3	New York Rangers (1968–69)	15–24–6
46	W	January 19, 1969	6–3	Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	16–24–6
47	W	January 23, 1969	5–3	@ Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	17–24–6
48	L	January 25, 1969	3–5	@ Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	17–25–6
49	L	January 26, 1969	1–3	@ St. Louis Blues (1968–69)	17–26–6
50	T	January 29, 1969	3–3	Boston Bruins (1968–69)	17–26–7
51	W	January 31, 1969	5–4	Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	18–26–7
52	L	February 1, 1969	5–8	@ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	18–27–7
53	W	February 5, 1969	5–1	Montreal Canadiens (1968–69)	19–27–7
54	W	February 8, 1969	4–1	@ Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	20–27–7
55	T	February 9, 1969	3–3	@ Boston Bruins (1968–69)	20–27–8
56	W	February 12, 1969	3–2	New York Rangers (1968–69)	21–27–8
57	T	February 15, 1969	4–4	@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	21–27–9
58	L	February 16, 1969	2–3	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	21–28–9
59	W	February 19, 1969	5–2	Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	22–28–9
60	W	February 21, 1969	3–2	St. Louis Blues (1968–69)	23–28–9
61	L	February 23, 1969	3–4	Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	23–29–9
62	W	February 26, 1969	6–5	Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	24–29–9
63	L	February 27, 1969	0–9	Boston Bruins (1968–69)	24–30–9
64	T	March 2, 1969	4–4	Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	24–30–10
65	L	March 5, 1969	2–5	@ Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	24–31–10
66	L	March 8, 1969	2–5	@ St. Louis Blues (1968–69)	24–32–10
67	L	March 9, 1969	3–5	@ Philadelphia Flyers (1968–69)	24–33–10
68	W	March 12, 1969	4–1	@ Chicago Black Hawks (1968–69)	25–33–10
69	L	March 13, 1969	1–3	Toronto Maple Leafs (1968–69)	25–34–10
70	W	March 16, 1969	7–2	Pittsburgh Penguins (1968–69)	26–34–10
71	L	March 18, 1969	2–3	@ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	26–35–10
72	T	March 19, 1969	4–4	Detroit Red Wings (1968–69)	26–35–11
73	W	March 22, 1969	4–0	@ Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	27–35–11
74	W	March 23, 1969	5–4	Los Angeles Kings (1968–69)	28–35–11
75	L	March 26, 1969	3–5	St. Louis Blues (1968–69)	28–36–11
76	W	March 29, 1969	7–2	Minnesota North Stars (1968–69)	29–36–11

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
Ted Hampson	10		76	26	49	75	6		7	3	4	7	2
Bill Hicke	9		67	25	36	61	68		7	0	3	3	4
Norm Ferguson	17		76	34	20	54	31		7	1	4	5	7
Gary Jarrett	12		63	22	23	45	22		7	2	1	3	4
Gerry Ehman	8		70	21	24	45	12		7	2	2	4	0
Mike Laughton	15		53	20	23	43	22		7	3	2	5	0
Carol Vadnais	5		76	15	27	42	151		7	1	4	5	10
Brian Perry	20		61	10	21	31	10		6	1	1	2	4
Earl Ingarfield†	7		26	8	15	23	8		7	4	6	10	2
Joe Szura	18		70	9	12	21	20		7	2	3	5	2
Doug Roberts	2		76	1	19	20	79		7	0	1	1	34
Bob Dillabough†	21		48	7	12	19	4		7	3	0	3	0
Bert Marshall	19		68	3	15	18	81		7	0	7	7	20
Francois Lacombe	4		72	2	16	18	50		3	1	0	1	0
George Swarbrick‡	14		50	3	13	16	75		–	–	–	–	–
Gene Ubriaco†	16		26	4	7	11	14		7	2	0	2	2
Dick Mattiussi†	6		24	1	9	10	16		7	0	1	1	6
Gerry Odrowski	11		74	5	1	6	24		7	0	1	1	2
Bryan Watson‡	6		50	2	3	5	97		–	–	–	–	–
Billy Harris‡	7		19	0	4	4	2		–	–	–	–	–
John Brenneman	16		21	1	2	3	6		7	0	0	0	0
Gary Smith	30		54	0	2	2	7		7	0	0	0	0
Len Ronson	15		5	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–
Charlie Hodge	1		14	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–
Chris Worthy	25		14	0	0	0	0		–	–	–	–	–

†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

			Regular season									Playoffs
Player	#		GP	TOI	W	L	T	GA	SO	GAA		GP	TOI	W	L	GA	SO	GAA
Gary Smith	30		54	2993	21	24	7	148	4	2.96		7	420	3	4	23	0	3.29
Charlie Hodge	1		14	781	4	6	1	48	0	3.69		–	–	–	–	–	–	–
Chris Worthy	25		14	786	4	6	3	54	0	4.12		–	–	–	–	–	–	–

Transactions

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

Trades

May 14, 1968	To Oakland Seals cash	To Toronto Maple Leafs Terry Clancy
May 21, 1968	To Oakland Seals Norm Ferguson Stan Fuller Francois Lacombe Michel Jacques	To Montreal Canadiens Wally Boyer Alain Caron rights to Lyle Bradley
May 27, 1968	To Oakland Seals Gary Jarrett Doug Roberts Chris Worthy Howie Young	To Detroit Red Wings Bobby Baun Ron Harris
June 6, 1968	To Oakland Seals Bryan Watson cash	To Montreal Canadiens 1st round pick in 1972 (Michel Larocque)
August, 1968	To Oakland Seals Len Ronson	To Montreal Canadiens cash
September 13, 1968	To Oakland Seals cash	To New York Rangers Ron Boehm
November, 1968	To Oakland Seals cash	To San Diego Gulls (WHL) Len Ronson
November 29, 1968	To Oakland Seals Bob Dillabough	To Pittsburgh Penguins Billy Harris
January 30, 1969	To Oakland Seals Earl Ingarfield Dick Mattiussi Gene Ubriaco	To Pittsburgh Penguins Tracy Pratt George Swarbrick Bryan Watson

Additions and subtractions

Additions Player Former team Via Brian Perry Providence Reds (AHL) Inter-league Draft (1968–06–06) Carol Vadnais Montreal Canadiens Intra-league Draft (1968–06–12)

Subtractions Player New team Via Charlie Burns Pittsburgh Penguins Intra-league Draft (1968–06–12) Larry Cahan Montreal Canadiens Intra-league Draft (1968–06–12) Howie Young Chicago Black Hawks Waivers (1968–10–02)

Roster

1968–1969 Oakland Seals Roster
Goaltenders 1 – Charlie Hodge  25 – Chris Worthy  30 – Gary Smith		Defensemen 2 – Doug Roberts  4 – Francois Lacombe  5 – Carol Vadnais  6 – Dick Mattiussi  6 – Bryan Watson  11 – Gerry Odrowski  19 – Bert Marshall		Wingers 7 – Earl Ingarfield  8 – Gerry Ehman  9 – Bill Hicke  12 – Gary Jarrett  14 – George Swarbrick  15 – Len Ronson  16 – John Brenneman  16 – Gene Ubriaco  17 – Norm Ferguson  21 – Bob Dillabough		Centers 7 – Billy Harris  10 – Ted Hampson  – C 18 – Joe Szura  20 – Brian Perry  22 – Mike Laughton  GM: Frank Selke, Jr. Coach: Fred Glover

Playoffs

The Seals made it into the playoffs and went against Los Angeles in the Quarter-finals in a best of seven series and lost in 7 games, or 3–4.

References

• Seals on Hockey Database
• Seals on Database Hockey