A Cumulative Thing…

Hi everyone! December is always a busy time at the Currier household. Between the traditional winter illnesses, two birthdays, and Christmas, that doesn’t leave my wife and I with much time to do much of anything. There’s lots of stuffy noses to blow, things to cough up, presents to buy, presents to wrap, parties to prepare, and consequently, parties to attend. So, now that I finally have a few hours to myself, I am able to make a small update to the site. This week, we are going back to late 1977, and the Cleveland Barons have had the misfortune of playing the rugged Philadelphia Flyers. Things did not go well. There were plenty of fights, and plenty of goals, most of which came off Flyers sticks. You could definitely feel that some members of the Barons were growing sick and tired of the Flyers shenanigans, and luckily for them, the Broad Street Bullies’ heyday was coming to an end. They would still be contenders for several more years, but their goonish behaviour was definitely toned down.

So, that’s it for this week. Hope you are all enjoying the holiday season and are making plans to celebrate with loved ones. And if you’re like me and struggling with a miserable December cold, hang tough; it gets better.

Until next time, stay gold!

It’s Been a Tough Start, So Let’s Remember the Better Times

Hi everyone! I really feel for all of you San Jose Sharks fans out there. It has been a really rough year. I can’t remember the last time a team actually gave up back-to-back ten-spots. Not even the 1974-75 Washington Capitals, who gave up ten or more goals seven times, managed to pull off that feat. While I’m not a huge Sharks fan, per se (after all, I grew up supporting the Montreal Canadiens), I’ve always admired the team for the way it built itself up in its early years, its smart marketing decisions, the beautiful uniforms, and the rabid fan base that has always stuck with them no matter what. I understand what you’re going through right now having already suffered through my franchise’s all-time worst season just two years ago, and even this season, after massively upgrading the roster, there is little chance they are heading for the playoffs. Things seem to start out okay, a few young players here and there make a great impression, score a hat trick or two, and then boom, knee injury… boom, upper body injury… boom, personal issue. In the end, the result is always the same: no playoffs once again.

Most years, the Seals followed a similar script, but no season was more heartbreaking than 1971-72, and you all know what I’m talking about. This week, I’ve posted an article from Hugh McDonald of the San Mateo Times. It was published the day after Joey Johnston scored his first NHL hat trick, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. The Seals were, quite simply, reeling at the worst possible time. They had been holding on to third place for most of the season, but by March, they slipped out of third place and all the way down to fifth. Now every point counted, and so when a weaker team like the second-year Buffalo Sabres came to town, it was essential to go for the win and not just settle for a tie. Luckily for the Seals, the new line of Joey Johnston, Gary Croteau, and Reggie Leach were flying, and they led the way to an impressive 6-3 win. The victory seemed to spark the Seals just a bit, as they went 2-1-2 their next five games, but as you already know, the last six games of the season, many of which were against teams who were also competing for West Division playoff spot, were all losses. Enjoy the article, which will hopefully remind you of those rare, happier times.

Until next time, stay gold!

An Early Christmas Present for You!

Hi everyone! I have some exciting news for all of you book-lovers out there. If you are looking for early Christmas presents, such as, oh, I don’t know, my latest book, The Washington Capitals, the Kansas City Scouts, and the Coca-Cola Bottlers’ Cup, 1975-76, or maybe some other excellent non-fiction work like Cold War on Ice about the 1976 NHL Super Series, The Life and Times of Johnny F. Bassett, about the legendary owner of the Toronto Toros, Birmingham Bulls, and Tampa Bay Bandits, or The NHL’s Mistake by the Lake, a great book about the history of the Cleveland Barons, McFarland Press is offering a 40% discount on all of its titles. You read that right, folks, but don’t let me steal any of McFarland’s thunder. Here is their pitch:

The holidays are almost here, and Black Friday…well…okay, look, we value our readers too much to make them wait until the day after Thanksgiving to get The Good Deals. You deserve nice things, and so do your friends and family this holiday season! That’s why we’re again offering a special, early access to our annual holiday sale as our way of thanking our customers for supporting our authors this year, and every year. Through Cyber Monday, November 27, get 40% off ALL titles with coupon code HOLIDAY23! Don’t delay, because when early access ends, the discount will drop to the standard 25%. If you’d like to help share the word, please do! You’ll find sharable social media posts pinned to the tops of our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram profiles, and the main landing page is here: https://mcfarlandbooks.com/holiday23/

As for this week’s Seals article, I found an interesting one from Oct 1974. Last time we dove into the 1974-75 pre-season we looked at the ill-fated experimental “free shot” rule. This week, we go back to the pre-season, but we will focus on what the Seals were doing behind the scenes. In this Santa Rosa Press Democrat article, writer George Hower describes an East-West game the Seals held to determine which players were going to stay in Oakland, and which ones would be heading to Salt Lake City. What was interesting about his scrimmage is that a slightly nervous Charles “Sparky” Schulz (of Peanuts fame, of course), was the referee! You can find out here who stood out during the game, and which side claimed victory.

Until next time, stay gold!

March of the Penguins

Hi everyone! I’m currently reading a new book from John Robertson and Carl Madden called Cold War on Ice. It’s a fascinating look at Super Series ’76, as well as the Canada-Soviet Union battles that preceded the first in-season NHL-Soviet Union games. I’m only half-way through it but I’m really enjoying it so far, and I’ve learned a lot of interesting tidbits about the Canada/North America vs Soviet Union feud that preceded the ’76 series. I didn’t know much about the first Super Series except the famous Montreal-Red Army game from New Year’s Eve 1975 (Todd Denault’s book, The Greatest Game, is a phenomenal read), and the final game of the series when the Philadelphia Flyers bullied their way past the same Red Army team. The other six games, especially those played by the Soviet Wings, were a complete mystery to me. Even more of a mystery was why a middling team like the Pittsburgh Penguins were chosen to represent the NHL in the second game of the series. The contest was an unmitigated disaster for the Penguins and the NHL. The Wings built up a commanding first period lead and won the game 7-4. The Penguins looked completely different than two weeks earlier when they took on the Seals in Oakland.

On December 17 the Penguins ran roughshod over the Seals ringing up a huge lead in the opening twenty minutes and cruising to an impressive 9-2 victory. It was arguably the Seals’ worst outing of the entire season, a game that coach Jack Evans called “an embarrassment”. The Penguins, on the other hand, looked great after having shown very little pep all season long. Before the season was over coach Marc Boileau would be out of a job. This game was one of his last hurrahs in the NHL. You can all about the Seals’ awful night in this San Francisco Examiner article right here.

Until next time, stay gold!

Anyone Up For a Free Shot?

Hi everyone! Oh boy, have I got something fun to share with you today. I’m willing to bet that anyone reading this right now is about to learn something about hockey that they never ever believed could possibly have existed. Today, you are about to read about a one-time NHL rule called the “free shot”.

Ok, I know what you’re saying: “What the hell is a free shot?” Let me explain. The free shot was an experimental rule that was only applied for about two weeks during the 1974 exhibition schedule. In essence, the free shot rule was brought in because games were becoming too slow. Players, and especially goaltenders, were constantly delaying the game, and NBC insisted that the NHL do something to make games more interesting, otherwise the TV network was not going to broadcast anymore games. The rule went something like this: a player would be allowed a shot on goal, unobstructed, if a) an opposing goalie froze the puck for more than three seconds, b) a opposing goalie delayed the game by placing the puck onto the goal netting, or c) an opposing player, including the goalie, despite not being checked by an opponent, chose to freeze the puck or play the puck along the boards in a way that led to a whistle.

What may shock you even more is that the free shot was not even the league’s first attempt to tweak the penalty for delay of game. In 1970, the NHL attempted to impose a free faceoff rule, which was basically the same as the free shot except, in this case, the centreman had to pass the puck to a teammate instead of shooting the puck himself. Can you imagine this rule being applied to the NHL of 2023? The NHL has definitely changed some rules over the years, like taking away the red line, adding no-touch icing, and implementing 3-on-3 overtime followed by a shootout. But giving a player an opportunity to let one rip on a defenseless goaltender? Not sure the NHLPA would be in favour of that, and NHL players of the 1970s were less than thrilled at the rule as well.

In the end, the free shot rule accomplished very little. It was called about two dozen times, resulting in less goals (3) than Law and Order spin-offs (too many to count). Obviously, neither of these rules were ever applied during a regular-season game, so most people don’t know about this odd little footnote in hockey history. The free shot/faceoff rules certainly weren’t widely reported in either 1970 or 1974, but they were indeed documented. You just have to look really, really, really hard in some old newspapers and Hockey News issues.

So there you have it, folks. You can now say for sure that you have learned something today. You’re welcome!

Of course, the Seals were around during both of these aforementioned periods. As far as I know, the Seals were never involved in a free faceoff situation, but they were indeed involved in one free shot on September 22, 1974 versus Atlanta. The game took place in Kingston, Ontario as did many Seals pre-season games in those days, and this partial article from the Ottawa Journal is the best description I could find of the unusual (and historic) event. Happy reading!

Until next time, stay gold!

Halloween Season is Feelin’ Like Christmas!

Hi everyone! I’m not sure if anyone else here is a subscriber to The Hockey News like me, but if you are, you are probably very excited about the news that all past issues of the magazine are going to be available online in digital format. I have been waiting for this day for literally years, so I was stoked when I saw that THN had sent me an email announcing the official launch of its archive. Of course, there are tons of Seals-related articles for you to peruse, so I urge you to head over to THN.com and subscribe to their new service.

This week, we go back to March 1975. As was the yearly tradition, the Seals’ season was all but over by this point, and so the troops were left to play out the stretch with very little to gain or lose. The only people who really benefited from these last few weeks of the season were the young players looking to impress enough so that they could earn a permanent spot on the roster in October. So this week’s article is about the Seals’ decision to go against the grain and continue to play with the same roster it had used all year. The team felt it was better to keep the youngsters down on the farm so that the Salt Lake Golden Eagles could challenge for the Central League crown. While the Eagles finished atop the North Division, they fell short in the playoffs. Many of those players, most notably Bob Murdoch, Bob Girard, Fred Ahern, and Jim Moxey would be a part of the Seals the following season. The Toledo Goaldiggers of the IHL, however, did capture the championship, but since this was a lower minor league, not many of these players made major impacts in the NHL or WHA.

If you live anywhere in the East, enjoy these last few days of warmish weather as next week is going to be frigid. Happy Halloween! Until next time, stay gold!

Let the September Freak Outs Begin!

Hi everyone! The current NHL season is less than two weeks old, and already we’re hearing hockey experts and journalists panic over how Alex Ovechkin is no longer going to catch up to Gretzky on the all-time goal-scoring list. You know, because we’re three games into the season. I think you will agree that this pretty much proves that Ovechkin has no chance of ever catching Gretzky. And it’s not just Ovi whose life has cratered. I mean, just look at the Edmonton Oilers, who are currently 1-3 on the season. With just 78 more games to go, I think it’s safe so say their season is over. And what about the Detroit Red Wings and Philadelphia Flyers each leading their respective divisions. Might as well cancel the rest of the season for the Atlantic and Metro Divisions, because those races have already been sown up, right? After all, such a small sample size is always an accurate predictor of the future. Remember last year when the New Jersey Devils started the year 0-2, and then they picked up 112 points the rest of the way? This yearly nonsense doesn’t bug me per se, but I do find it strange to read and hear so many online and print media hockey experts panicking in the worst way before the season is even a month old. Not every loss or missed shot should be treated as a major news event, but hey, welcome to 2023!

Where am I going with this? Well, this week I’ve posted an article from the November 27, 1969 Oakland Tribune. Even though the NHL was still cursing themselves for having given the Bay Area franchise to Barry van Gerbig and company, the Seals were starting to turn a corner attendance-wise. Numbers were up across the board, whether it was season tickets sold or average attendance. There was actually a chance this franchise was going to survive long-term. It didn’t, of course, as we all know, because blips in the radar don’t always mean the Luftwaffe is about to attack.

Before I leave you this week, I have to share this link with all of you who have enjoyed reading the entries in the Hockey Hall of Shame’s “Overexposed” wing. Oh, sweet Jesus, the treacle that has leaked out of the Upper Deck factory’s drain pipe in time for the new NHL season is just… just… oh my God, I can’t even describe it, you just have to take a look at it for yourself. I’d love to hear your comments on some of these atrocities, so feel free to drop me a line.

On that note, have a great weekend and stay gold!

Welcome Back, NHL!

Hi everyone! Ah, it’s that time again… time to get our puck on! We’re less than a week into the new NHL season, and I’m totally psyched. There is so much hope and optimism out there in October. Who is going to be the surprise team? What rookies are going to take charge? Who is going to underperform? Sure, my Habs lost their season opener against an incredibly sloppy Maple Leaf squad, but the fact they scored five times gives me a smidgen of hope that the Habs will finally start scoring some goals this year. I also enjoyed watching Connor Bedard when the Habs and Blackhawks met on Saturday night. It was my first chance to see the kid compete, and he certainly looks like the real deal.

This week, we go back to February 1969, a time of great turmoil in Oakland. That is indeed saying something since just about every day of the Seals’ history was filled with not only turmoil, but also stress, anxiety, depression, despair, and uncertainty. Interestingly enough, the Seals were playing fairly decent hockey at this point and were well on their way to their first and only second-place finish. Attendance, however, was horrible, and no one was happy to see all that red ink in the books. Barry van Gerbig was looking to move the Seals to Vancouver, and the Knox brothers, Northrup and Seymour, of Buffalo, New York were interested in buying the Seals and moving them to Buffalo, but the NHL made it quite clear the Seals were not leaving the Bay Area. This week’s article by Jim Coleman, the great Canadian sportswriter, goes deep into what was going on behind closed doors during this time. We all know how things turned out, so it’s interesting to see how sportswriters and league executives thought the whole situation would play out.

I hope you enjoy what’s left of the weekend, and that you manage to get a game or two in before heading back to work on Monday. Until next time, stay gold!

A Guide on How Not to Pinch Pennies

Hi everyone! I hope you’ve all had yourself a great week. It’s almost October, and you know what that means: hockey season is almost upon us. A few exhibition games are starting to pop up on TV, fading veterans are signing PTOs hoping to make enough of an impression to latch on to a new club, and the media is already wondering whether or not Ryan Reeves is going to be the difference between the Toronto Maple Leafs winning the Stanley Cup or doing what they usually do (Spoiler alert: it’s the latter). I personally am looking forward to see my team in action once again, not that I expect them to do much again this year. Like any fan of a rebuilding team, it’s perversely nice to not feel like every game is a life-and-death situation. You can watch the games just hoping that a couple of players take some big steps forward until there are enough players on the roster who can actually help the team make a charge to the playoffs. I see that in teams like Dallas, Buffalo, and Ottawa. Dallas has taken those steps after letting their prospects blossom into superstars. Buffalo has done the same and just missed the playoffs. Ottawa’s youngsters are wonderful to watch, but the playoffs are still a year away, in my opinion. And Montreal? Well, they’ll be better this year, but not good enough to leapfrog Buffalo and Ottawa.

The Canadiens of 2023-24 are a lot like the Seals of the early 1970s in that they are diamond-studded with future stars. I can only hope that unlike the Seals, the Canadiens can actually take that next step forward. Montreal will certainly be helped by the fact they don’t have to compete with the WHA for talent. Which brings me to the topic of this week’s article. The WHA was one of the major reasons why the Seals went on a downward spiral starting in 1972. The team lost all sorts of talent to the rebel league, but one player they didn’t lose was defenseman Dick Redmond. Well, the Seals eventually lost him, and part of the reason why was because the WHA had made him a huge contract offer that Seals GM Garry Young reacted to with an offer of his own. This week I’ve posted an article from legendary Montreal Star writer Red Fisher detailing the entire Dick Redmond contract fiasco.

Since next weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, that means I will be heading out of town to visit with family and friends, so there won’t be another site update until the following week. If you are living in Canada, I hope you have yourselves a great long weekend, and if you are living in the States, Thanksgiving is just around the corner!

Until next time, stay gold!

Sibling Rivalry

Hi everyone! Max and Doug, Bobby and Dennis, Maurice and Henri, Frank and Peter, Henrik and Daniel; the number of brother combos to have graced NHL ice is indeed a long one. What I find surprising is just how many brother duos have played on the same team at the same time. Indeed, all of the aforementioned brothers played together for long stretches, and many of them captured Stanley Cups together as well. Brothers have played a big role in the history of professional hockey, and the Seals are no exception. Bill Hicke and his younger brother Ernie played just one season together, but they made the most of their time together, engaging in a playful competition to see who could score the most goals.

This week, we are going back to the dying days of 1970. The Seals have just won four in a row for the second time that season, and the dressing room has become a fun and loose environment. Winning can have that kind of effect on a team. The Seals, as you know, didn’t have a lot of moments when they could brag about being on a hot streak. I imagine the Seals’ dressing room being a pretty dour place most of the time, but certainly not on December 23, 1970. The Hicke brothers were needling each other about which of their lines was the most effective. Unfortunately, the atmosphere in Sealsland quickly changed for the worse, and the team won just nine more games the rest of the way. This week’s article, a great piece from John Porter of the Oakland Tribune, captures the Seals in one of those very rare moments when everyone on the team was jubilant and looking forward to the next game because they felt that victory was well within their grasp.

Have yourselves a great weekend and, if you can, enjoy the last remnants of summer! Until next time, stay gold!