Hi everyone! Lately, the media has been accused of publishing fake news, being less than objective, and posting stories before getting all the facts straight. Yes, 2020 has not been kind to the media, which for many, many years, was the only way to get our hands on information about current events. Now, I don’t want to dump on reporters and writers; they are doing the best they can in a very difficult time. They get drenched by waves in the middle of hurricanes, they get rubber bullets sprayed at them as they report on riots, and they get wild animals biting them in the face as they try to interview the local zookeeper. Being a reporter is hard work, and they get nothing but grief. That being said, back in February 1977, some media members were a little too quick to predict the dissolution of the Cleveland Barons. Sure, the Barons were basically in a coma and on life support at that point, but sometimes people do wake up, and the Barons did exactly that. You can read all about the premature death of the Barons in the articles section.

And for all of you sumo fans out there, and I know there are dozens of you out there, you will definitely want to check out the first hockey-sumo crossover in NHL history. At least, its the first one, as far as I know, that has been immortalized on cardboard, and it is being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Shame’s Overexposed wing, which you can visit right here.

I hope everyone has a great Labour Day weekend and is able to enjoy the final days of warm-ish weather. At least, up here in Ottawa, warm-ish is about all we can hope for in September, but I’ll take it as long as it’s sunny. Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Well, my beloved Habs are once again out of the playoffs, but it was a nice 10-game run, a run that never would have happened in the first place had it not been for COVID. I would have preferred landing Alexis Lafrenière in the draft, but there was no guarantee they were going to win the lottery anyway if they had lost against Pittsburgh. As we’re down to just one Canadian team, here’s hoping Vancouver can continue their string of good luck and great performances and bring Stanley back home.

This week, there is a new article about Walt McKechnie and his on-ice partnership with Joey Johnston and Craig Patrick. McKechnie owed a lot of his career to the Seals, who rescued him from obscurity in Minnesota. He immediately became one of the team’s most productive players and enjoyed three solid seasons in Oakland before going on to greater success in Detroit and Toronto.

And in the Hockey Hall of Shame this week, we have a brand new Overexposed induction featuring former Boston Bruin goaltender Doug Keans dealing with a… shall we say… personal problem. To find out what problem I’m talking about, you’ll have to head on over to this week’s newest Overexposed card.

Until next week, stay gold!

Hi everyone! The contenders are beginning to fall by the wayside. Goodbye Columbus. Goodbye Arizona. Goodbye Chicago. Goodbye Carolina. We’re down to teams 12 now and of those twelve, a couple are teetering on the brink of defeat. By next week at this time, we’ll be down to our final eight teams and then things will get really interesting. I’m particularly looking forward to the second round as so many of the league’s best teams, namely Vegas, Boston and Tampa Bay, are only beginning to gain steam, so we should be in for a real treat. Unfortunately, I will miss the rest of round one since I will be going to the in-laws who live where the Internet forgot to show up, so I’ll be lucky to find out what’s about to happen to my Habs, and the other eleven contenders who are left.

At least these teams got to play at least a few playoff games, unlike the 1971-72 Seals. They came awfully close, though, and one can only wonder if they would have made it with Carol Vadnais in the line-up. On February 23, the Seals were 18-29-14, which put them right in contention for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division. GM Garry Young was hoping that by trading the disgruntled Vadnais for Reggie Leach, Rick Smith and Bob Stewart, the Seals would improve their depth at several positions (namely defense). This week, we look into the famous trade since we are nearing the date of Carol Vadnais’s passing August 31, 2014 at the age of 68. You can find a brand new Hockey News article from March 1972 in the articles section.

On that note, I wish you all a pleasant playoff, and I’ll have new stuff for all of you next week upon my return. Until next time, stay gold!

You’ve picked a great time to check out Golden Seals Hockey, my friend! Not only have we got a brand new Overexposed induction featuring wrestling star Chris Jericho’s dad, Ted Irvine, but we’ve also got a brand new Hockey Hall of Shame induction featuring this site’s main subject, the California Golden Seals

The Seals really did nothing to deserve this induction, and in fact, it isn’t really about them either, but rather about the worst-ever California Golden Seals replica jerseys on the Internet today. I don’t know who created some of these, but they obviously had no access to hockey books, hockey cards, newspaper archive or Internet website, because none of these things are even close to being “replicas”. You have to see these for yourself to believe they exist, but I warn you, the shock may take days, even weeks to wear off, much like the sting Leafs fans have been feeling since their heroes fell off the playoff cliff earlier in the week. I’m not a Leafs fan, so I don’t know the feeling myself, but I do like mocking Leafs fans, so I know how I want Leafs fans to feel, and I imagine it isn’t pleasant. Anyway…

You should also check out this week’s cardboard catastrophe, courtesy of O-Pee-Chee. The card says that its photo is of Ted Irvine, but I have my doubts, and you’ll find out why right here. It also contains one of the worst St. Louis Blues jersey renditions ever.

Anyhow, my little girl has been waking up repeatedly this evening, and I may not have much time left before her next crying spell or diaper leak, so I’ll have to wrap this up quickly.Hope everyone is enjoying this year’s playoffs. They’ve been a little unorthodox, but fun nonetheless. The games have been exciting. There have been some surprises. I can’t complain. It’ll be strange not having a new season start in October, and it will be strange seeing someone walk away with the Stanley Cup in the fall, but I’m just glad hockey is back.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! That’s right… how to taste a smell. That is not a typo, but rather some key words in the headline of the article I have posted this week about the Cleveland Barons ending their awful 15-game winless streak in the dying weeks of the 1977-78 schedule. It seems the team tasted the smell of success, whatever that means. Maybe you’ll find some sort of explanation in the article itself, but I sure couldn’t find anything. If you want to read up on one of the Barons’ very last wins as an NHL franchise, you can head on over here to the articles section.

It will be a short update this week, as I’ve been invited to participate in a new thread about my book on HFBoards, which houses a bunch of a message boards and interesting forums all about hockey and the NHL. It’s a great place to chat with other hockey aficionados, post comments, ask questions, and hob-nob with a few people who have written hockey books and articles. On Sunday, I’ll be starting a new thread about my book on the Seals, so if you want to contribute by submitting questions or comments, please feel free, the more the merrier! The thread isn’t up yet, but if you go to https://hfboards.mandatory.com/forums/the-history-of-hockey.126/ you’ll find my thread there on Sunday. If you go now, you’ll find a whole bunch of other interesting topics and some threads created by other writers who have just released books. I’m actually kinda lucky to be participating in this Society for International Hockey Research Project since it’s been almost three years since my book was published.

Anyway, that’s about it for this week. Keep enjoying the Stanley Cup playoffs as we never truly know how long they are going to last this year. So far, so good. Players are keeping their noses clean and staying inside their bubble, so we may actually crown a Stanley Cup champ this fall.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! As I was rocking my daughter to sleep I was thinking about the article I wanted to post this week, and like a bolt of lightning, I realized that the former Seals great shares the same name as a certain beloved Simpsons character. That’s right, Mr. Burns actually played for the Seals! Well, maybe not THE Mr. Burns, one Charles Montgomery, but rather Charles Frederick Burns. Still, it is fun to picture Homer’s sadistic, century-old, cranky, billionaire boss hipchecking the Plager Brothers. The three-dimensional Burns played six years in the Bay Area and was widely respected by teammates and opponents for being one of the hardest-working players game-in, game-out. You can read this great, classic piece on Burns from the February 1968 Hockey Pictorial right here.

If that isn’t enough of a treat for you, there is also a brand new induction just waiting to be read in the Hockey Hall of Shame, and it is going to bring back some warm and fuzzy memories. Just kidding, it’s a bunch of awful photos of some truly awful jerseys that hopefully will never be seen again. You may want to claw your eyes out, but don’t let that stop you from reading and expanding your mind.

If you’ve got a few minutes, be sure to check out the Surveys section of the site to vote for the best line in franchise history. Come on, dude, you’ve got the time. Go ahead, check it out and make your vote count.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! This week, we’ve got a bunch of new stuff for you, so let’s get started, shall we?

First, we’ve got a new article from the March 15, 1976 Oakland Tribune‘s John Porter about the night the Seals were officially eliminated from the playoffs for the sixth year in a row. This time, however, there remained the feeling that there were better days ahead as the Seals gave the Boston Bruins all they could handle. You can read the game report over in the articles section.

You may also want to read this week’s bonus article, which was sent to me by site subscriber Mark Harris. It is about the five best former Pittsburgh Penguins who had a significant impact with another franchise. That other franchise would be the Seals. You can read the piece over here.

Since it’s been a while since the last Overexposed induction into the Hockey Hall of Shame, go take a look at the latest dose of cardboard weirdness featuring the Hartford Whalers’ Adam Burt about to get hit. How is he about to get hit, you’ll have to go read this week’s piece to find out.

Anyway, that’s about it for this week. I’m going to be spending the next few days in the pool and feeding neighbour cats with my wife and kids. Supposed to be a hot weekend, so we’ll be seeing lots of water, I’m sure. Hope all of you stay cool and relaxed and enjoying the outdoors. Wear a mask if you have to and stay safe!

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everybody! It’s only been three days since the last update, but since I also went a good two weeks plus without an update before this, I figured here’s a little something to get the weekend started. We’ve had a few new subscribers to the site as well, possibly as a result of the 2020 Seals Hall of Fame induction, so I wanted to keep the ball rolling with a few more goodies.

This week, we have a special extra-long article for your enjoyment. The game it describes was nothing special, just a late-season 3-1 loss to the pitiful ’74-’75 Minnesota North Stars, but the extras that go along with the article are top-notch… more press notes courtesy of Pete Manzolillo. I’ve always found these to be great reading material for history and stats geeks like me, so hopefully you’ll get the same enjoyment out of them too. You can read the article and the bonus pieces over here in the articles section.

Before you go, be sure to check out the last survey I posted. It’s all about the greatest line in team history. Who do you think the best forward trio in Seals/Barons history is? Check out the surveys section and let everyone know.

So, like title overhead says, the countdown is on to July 14, 2021 when new faces are added to the Seals Hall of Fame. I’d like to throw it out there before the voting officially gets underway in a few months: Who do you feel should be among the nominees? I’m not saying your choice is going to make the cut, but I’d like some ideas as to who should have a crack at the Hall next year. You can e-mail me your ideas to stevecurrier@goldensealshockey.com.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! It’s that time of year again when we welcome a few more Seals legends into the franchise’s Hall of Fame, and this year’s inductees could not be more deserving. Thank you to everyone who participated in this year’s vote, and congratulations to this year’s inductees: Mike Christie, Gerry Ehman and Bill Hicke. I’m also happy to announce this year’s induction into the Builder’s category, which we began last year when Charles Schultz was inducted. This year’s addition to the Builder category is none other than Leonard Shapiro. Thanks to Gary “Cobra” Simmons for his thoughtful suggestion to induct Len into the Hall. After all, has anyone done more to promote the NHL’s most beloved defunct franchise these last 46 years?

Here are the final results of the 2020 vote:

Fred Glover – 10.8%
Jack Evans – 10.8%
Ray Cyr – 1.5%
Mike Christie – 16.9%
Gerry Ehman – 15.4%
Norman “Bud” Poile – 7.7%
Wayne Connelly – 6.2%
Bill Hicke – 20.0%
Other – 10.8%

If you want to read up on this year’s inductees, you can head on over in the Hall of Fame section.

It’s now been 44 years since the Seals left the Bay Area for the proverbial greener pastures when all they found was literally greener pastures as in the surrounding area of the Richfield Coliseum where sheep were known to graze. Let’s have a look back at some of the most memorable moments in Seals history with a great piece from the San Francisco Examiner‘s Ross McKeon. You can find this 1997 article right over here.

Well, that’s about it this week. Thanks for stopping by once again! Just because the NHL is planning on starting up again in the coming weeks doesn’t mean you should be a stranger to this site. There’s lots more cool stuff coming this summer and fall. If you like what you’re seeing and reading, why don’t you subscribe to the site? Every week, I promise you’ll be the first to know when I post an update. Guaranteed! You’ll get a nice e-mail every weekend and you can click right on the links in the e-mail, and they’ll take you right to the new content on this site. Come on, take the plunge! It’s summer after all.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Just a small update this week as I’ve been quite busy of late and I’m planning on taking a trip to the Eastern Townships to visit the in-laws and risk getting COVID-19 in another province! I think you’ll find this week’s article quite appropriate as it mourns the loss of the Bay Area’s first major professional hockey team. Of course, at this point in the summer of 1976, it was no secret the Seals were likely on their way out of California, even though the inevitable didn’t actually happen until mid-July. That being said, the news still shook a lot of folks who had seen so much hope for the future from the likes of Dennis Maruk, Al MacAdam, Rick Hampton, and others. You can check out this week’s article here.

I also realized lately that I have gotten a little lazy when it comes to the Surveys section of the site, so this week I’m adding a new poll where I’m asking who you think is the greatest line in franchise history. Is it the Assembly Line? The 3-M Line? The Wrecking Crew Line? You can find the survey here and cast your vote.

Since I’ll be away for the next week, and that I will need a bit of extra time to prepare for the induction of the newest members of the Seals Hall of Fame, there won’t be a site update next week. Golden Seals Hockey will be back July 14 on the 44th anniversary of the official announcement the Seals would be moving to Cleveland. Come back on that day to see if your picks for the Hall of Fame got in this year. If you haven’t voted yet, be sure to do so. You have until June 30 to cast your votes.

Until next time, stay gold!