As you probably already know, former Seals/Barons defenseman Mike Christie passed away July 11 as he was awaiting a kidney transplant. The Big Spring, Texas-born, but Calgary, Alberta-raised Chrisite was 69. Christie, in my opinion, was one of the more underrated defensemen in franchise history. Many don’t realize that he holds the franchise +/- record, which he set in 1976-77. He went +18 that year, which on a team like the Cleveland Barons, was like finishing +218 on a contending team. Of all the players who toiled in Oakland and Cleveland, he may have had the biggest heart, and was a respected team leader. Everyone remembers the night the Philadelphia Flyers jumped Christie in the penalty box, and Christie never complained about the unfortunate incident in any newspaper article I ever read. He was a tough individual with a little offensive flair. The same year he set the club mark for +/- he also scored 6 goals and added 27 assists, which were both career-highs. My thoughts and prayers go out to the Christie family as well as his teammates over the years. R.I.P. Mike.

I just wanted to do a small update this week, due to the fact we are having furniture delivered this weekend, thus meaning we have to rearrange (i.e. clean) the house before and after its arrival. I spent most of last evening moving one heavy couch from my basement, up a narrow set of stairs, around a sharp corner and into my living room, followed by moving the previous living room couch out into the garage where it will reside until the garbage truck comes by Monday morning. So, yeah, a little short on time this week, but all the same I happened to find an old article from a 1974 issue of The Hockey News featuring 2019 Seals Hall of Fame inductee Ivan Boldirev, who was then in his third and final season with the Seals. Boldirev was traded to Chicago just a few months later for Mike Christie and Len Frig in one of the most underrated deals made by the Seals. Sure, Boldirev was about as consistent as they came, and he had a great career with Chicago, Atlanta, Vancouver and Detroit, but the Seals’ defense immediately improved after acquiring Christie and Frig. Head on over to the articles section to take a look at the piece.

Until next time, stay gold!