Hi everyone! As you may have guessed by some of my previous posts, Hall of Shame entries, and otherwise snide remarks about all things blue-and-white, I don’t have a lot of room in my heart for Canada’s second greatest hockey franchise. Of course, I’m talking about the Edmonton Oilers and their sorta-recent history of winning Stanley Cups. (What other franchise did you think I was talking about? Who else could be Canada’s second-best franchise). I’m not really much of an Oilers fan although if they are in the playoffs I’ll cheer them on. I will especially cheer them on if they are taking on another Canadian franchise known for wearing blue and white: the Toronto Maple Leafs. Now I admit I chuckled a little bit when I found out Auston Matthews is going to be out until for the next four weeks or more, and that the Stanley Cup parade is on hold for the time being. And that got me thinking… can you put a parade route on retainer like one of Trump’s many, many lawyers? If so, no wonder the city of Toronto loves the Leafs because fifty-one years of street rental, wow, is that some nice coin or what! But I’m not a hard-hearted man, folks, and my beloved Habs had their own injury issues last year, and many other years previous. Leaf fans, I understand your pain. To prove I’m not trying to bask in your misery, I’m posting a rare article about a huge Leafs win against… the San Francisco Seals? You see, way back in September 1963, the Seals were the defending Lester Patrick Cup champions, and they took on the Leafs, who were the reigning Stanley Cup champs. That’s right: it’s NHL vs WHL in the ultimate grudge match! Or maybe it was just a pre-season exhibition game. I’ll let you decide.

And because it has been a while since we’ve posted any new articles, check out this other rare one from November 1961. The Seals were just starting their inaugural WHL season, and things were not going so well. They famously began the season on, get this, a 14-game road trip. Making matters worse was the Seals’ 1-8 record to start the season. And making matters even worse than that was the 11-1 shellacking they suffered against the Seattle Totems just three days before Halloween. The loss, and the immediate criticism the Seals received in the media, may have been the spark they needed to turn their season around. The team won three of the last four games of the trip, and eight of eleven overall as they made a slow, steady climb into a playoff spot.

Finally, we’re also bringing you a brand new induction to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame. This week, we are featuring former NHL player Jason Marshall in one of the worst hockey card photo you have ever seen.

Well, that’s it for this week. Keep coming back for more new stuff about the Seals, including stats updates, and the announcement of this year’s nominees for the 2019 Seals Hall of Fame! Until next time, stay gold!