Hi everyone! Well, what a first playoff round that was! I’ve never seen so many surprises and upsets in the span of a week. I still can’t believe Tampa, Washington, Pittsburgh and Winnipeg all fell like dominos. Up was down, left was right, black was white, and the Leafs lost again… to Boston… in Game 7… in an embarrassing fashion… Hmm, I guess things weren’t as upside down and topsy-turvy as I thought.

I was doing a little research in some old Bay Area newspapers when I stumbled across a great article about Game 7 of the 1966 semi-final series between the San Francisco Seals and Victoria Maple Leafs. And since the game took place 53 years ago tomorrow, what better time than now to present you with this great new article. You may remember the article I wrote a while back on the bizarre circumstances that took place throughout the series. The Seals went through a virtual goaltender carousel during those seven games, and the Leafs outshot the Seals by a wide margin night after night. It was a miracle the series was as close as it was. If you’ve got the time, head on over to the articles section to read about the series’ concluding contest.

Thanks to the Easter long weekend, I’ve had a chance to catch up a little bit and write some new material for the site including some new Overexposed entries. I found one hell of a great-looking disaster of a card that I just had to post. This one is almost inexplicable, so you’ll have to check it out for yourself right here. If you’re a Jeremy Roenick fan, or have been to Sunnyvale Trailer Park in Nova Scotia, you’re gonna love it.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy what hopefully is a couple of days of nice, warm spring weather! Until next time, stay gold!

I have just found out through the Society for International Hockey Research’s quarterly newsletter that Dr. Eugene Willis passed away at the end of January. I wanted to mention this to everyone because Gene was a long-time Seals fan who played a large role in getting my book off the ground.

Gene was a big Seals fan, and he wanted to do something to commemorate the team’s 50th anniversary, so around April or May 2017, Gene contacted me and asked if I wanted to participate in a Seals 50th Anniversary Night in Toronto that would be held in October, about two weeks before my book’s release. I was a little hesitant at first since I had never been to Toronto on my own, and I definitely was not going to drive out there since I was not at all familiar with the city. So it was up to me to get a hotel room, and a train ticket, and try to figure out how to get from point A to point B without screwing anything up. I’m not a terribly organized person, so all of this was hinging on me not doing anything Steve-like. What can I say, he was very convincing, and the idea of meeting several former players and getting some autographs, not to mention selling a bunch of books started sounding like good ideas. We spoke over the phone and communicated by e-mail for several weeks, often expressing concern about players who said they would come to the event but changed their minds at the last minute, not to mention waiting for my publisher to send advanced copies to Gene in Toronto. Gene also took it upon himself to not only accept delivery of the 25 books I had sent over from the University of Nebraska Press, but he carted them over to the event as well, which saved me a lot of trouble and effort.

In the end, everything worked out perfectly. Gene took charge of organizing the whole event at St. Michael’s College, and he even ordered pizza for everyone who arrived early. He spoke to the crowd about the Seals’ history, and he brought out all of his old Seals and Barons jerseys, as well as his personal collection of hockey cards, memorabilia, and a few photo boards which he lovingly put together.

We had a big crowd, I sold lots of books, got some autographs, shook hands with four former NHL players, had my first-ever interview (with fellow writer Greg Oliver), and made some great personal connections with players and fans.

At the end of the event, Gene also gave all of the players, and myself, a binder of custom cards he had made of the entire 1967-68 team, which I still have on the bookshelf in my office. He also gave me a few extra cards featuring the players at the event so I could get a couple extra autographs. It was a wonderful evening which will probably never happen again due to logistics, but if it does happen again we’ll have a great template for how to do it.

R.I.P. Gene and thanks for your support.

All photos courtesy of Greg Oliver.

Hi everyone! I can’t believe this, but I have never posted an article on one of the most famous moments in Sealdom: the night the streaker skated on to the Coliseum ice and into hockey history. What an oversight! Usually, I’m much more alert than that, but hey we all make mistakes; that gets rectified today! The incident in question, which many of you have already read about, happened during the last game of the 1973-74 season, April 5 to be exact. You can read all about the streaker and find out her identity right here, or, if you haven’t done so already (You’ve got some nerve, mister!) you can go one better and pick up a copy of my book, which goes into great detail about the night in question.

In keeping with this week’s “blue” theme, might I interest you in this week’s Overexposed card. As you probably already know, the Washington Capitals are beginning the defense of their 2018 Stanley Cup championship this week, and to commemorate what is the hardest thing to accomplish in hockey – winning back-to-back titles – we go back in time to when the Capitals employed another goaltender, who is now toiling for the up-and-coming Colorado Avalanche. This week, we present an awesome error card featuring Semyon Varlamov, and before you ask, yes, that is how you spell his name. What, you don’t believe me? (Again… some nerve, mister!) Go check out his card for yourself.

That’s about it for this week. Come back soon for more hockey-related history and insanity, and don’t forget to check out some of the less-known corners of the site, including the Ultimate Seals Quiz, the Seals-related Book Reviews, and the Frequently Asked Questions. You can also vote for the person or people you feel should be inducted into the Seals Hall of Fame in 2019. You can vote up to three times per device, and the winners will be revealed in July when Golden Seals Hockey celebrates its fourth anniversary. Until next time, stay gold!

After some Internet connection issues last week, we’re back, and with a brand new update! With my Habs getting officially eliminated from playoff contention yesterday, I thought a trip in time to February 2, 1975 was in order. That day, it became a sad reality – at least in the mind of San Francisco Chronicle sports writer Ken Miller – that the Seals probably weren’t going to make the playoffs that April. For the most part, the Seals had shown considerable improvement in 1974-75 despite some initial jitters and occasional blowouts. Thanks to a very lackluster Toronto Maple Leaf team the Seals were still in position to make a run at the post-season. December was a strong month for the Seals and so was early January, but as the All-Star Game rolled around, it became clear that even though two thirds of the Seals final 30 or so games would be played at home, there was little chance of catching Toronto. Check out this article from the San Francisco Chronicle. to find out more.

Be sure to also head on over to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame to try to find out what is making Bernie Federko contort his face like a disturbed six-year-old. It’s a card whose induction has been long overdue.

Just to close out this update, don’t forget to vote for the one, two or three players/personalities you believe are deserving of induction into the Seals Hall of Fame. Only three will make the cut this year! You can vote up to three times per device, so come back multiple times if you like, and it’s FREE to vote too! Can’t get a better deal than that now, can you?

And if you haven’t done so already, and are so inclined to do so, please head over to Amazon.ca or Amazon.com and leave some feedback about my book. Every little comment helps spread the word just a little bit.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! This will be a short update this week since I’m writing this at work, and like the legendary John McLean in Die Hard, I gotta make this quick before I get caught. Except I don’t have guns pointed at me in every direction, so maybe I’m not at all like John McLean.

I won’t be able to put a real update on the site this week since our router at home seems to have died, which is weird since TekSavvy just sent us a supposedly “better and faster” router just a few weeks ago. Well, after not being able to print anything, and not being able to use our Internet-connected phone for several weeks, now the Internet ain’t working at all, so in other words, impossible to properly update the site this week aside from this short message. Hopefully, TekSavvy will have everything resolved this weekend and I’ll be able to make a better update next week.

In the meantime, feel free to go back into the bowels of the site and check out some classic Hall of Shame updates like the brightest (but not “smartest” brightest) hockey uniforms of all-time, the most useless-never-going-to-get-their-own-comic-book-movie-even-in-2019-when-even-Shazam!-is-getting-his-own-movie-comic-book-characters, and one of the biggest fashion faux pas in hockey history.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Well, here we are, officially in spring… and with a 10-15 centimetre snowstorm heading our way tonight and tomorrow morning! I don’t know about you, but I’m starting to get a little sick and tired of snow. At least there’s still the best part of the hockey season to come.

Back in January 1978, the Cleveland Barons were also looking forward to this part of the hockey season: the stretch drive and playoffs. General manager Harry Howell started stocking up on veterans and tried to help the Barons make one final push in what turned out to be their last NHL season. Ultimately, the Barons’ bid for a wild-card playoff spot failed, but for a little while at least, Cleveland had a legitimate reason to cheer on its team in the latter half of the 1977-78 season. You can check out a new article on the Barons’ new winning attitude right here.

In the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame we have a brand new card from the 1983-84 O-Pee-Chee set. It isn’t one of the weirdest-looking cards we’ve ever featured, but it is definitely one of the most baffling to explain. You can check it out here.

Before you leave the site today, if you haven’t already done so, please vote for who you believe should be elected to the 2019 Seals Hall of Fame. You can vote up to three times per device so you don’t have to wrack your brain trying to decide between two worthy candidates! The race is definitely a close one and it promises to go right down to the wire.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! This week, it’s story time! I’ve added an article about Seals Hall of Famer Reggie Leach, one of my favorites, to the articles section, and I have a bit of a back story to share before you go check it out.

I have a bit of a personal connection to Reggie. When I was writing the manuscript of my book (which you can purchase right here) sometime in 2013, my uncle Pete, who was down from B.C. for my Mom’s funeral that July, took a look at it, he told me he could get Reggie Leach to autograph it. He said he knew a guy who knew Reggie, and that it wouldn’t be a problem. So I handed my uncle one of the three or so copies I had, and sure enough, a few weeks later, I had my manuscript back, autographed by The Riverton Rifle himself. Reggie also included a great photo of himself wearing the infamous snow white skates from 1971-72, the photo in which it looks like Stan Gilbertson is hanging his head in shame in the background. The photo is currently on my desk at home and the manuscript is on the book shelf in my office close to my autographed copy of my book (signed by Reggie, Marv Edwards, Joey Johnston, and Wayne King).

I got to meet Reggie, Joey, Marv, and Wayne in October 2017 when I traveled to Toronto to participate in the Q&A for the Seals 50th Anniversary Night. It was very obvious that Reggie was quite at ease in front of a crowd, and he loved regaling everyone with stories of his hockey past. He’s a real pro at public speaking. After the Q&A, I had the opportunity to speak to Reggie for a few minutes. I mentioned to him how I could see, his huge, whomping Philadelphia Flyers Stanley Cup ring from the other end of the Q&A table we were both sitting at. He then mentioned that he also owned a California Seals ring as well, which I was quite familiar with. I showed him a picture of it in the book, and he immediately recognized it. I think he said he had once lost it, but one of his kids had found it and gave it back to him, but I’m a bit sketchy on the details. What I do remember is that I gave him a copy of my book as a thank you for coming to the event in the first place, but he then pulled out $80 and bought two more copies for his son and daughter. Reggie couldn’t have been a nicer gentleman, and I strongly urge you to go out and pick up a copy of his excellent autobiography, The Riverton Rifle, if you haven’t done so already.

Anyway, that’s about it for this week. Hope to see you all again real soon! Until next time, stay gold!

Former Seal Harry Howell passed away today, and I wish to extend my sympathies to his family and friends. He was one of the most respected players of his generation, whether that was as a member of the New York Rangers (with whom he won the 1967 Norris Trophy due in part to his career-high 12 goals and 40 points), the Oakland Seals, California Golden Seals, L.A. Kings, or the WHA’s New York Golden Blades/Jersey Knights, San Diego Mariners, or Calgary Cowboys. The Hockey Hall of Famer played a total of 1,581 regular-season games in the NHL and WHA, amassing 101 goals and 360 assists over an incredible 24 seasons. He also played in 45 career NHL/WHA playoff games, but unfortunately never captured the Stanley Cup.

When he was acquired by the Seals in 1969, many believed the Hamilton, Ontario native’s career was coming to an end; he played another seven years, including two with the Seals, scoring four goals and 25 assists in 83 games. He brought class and dignity to a franchise that was just starting out and looking for some credibility. Despite the Seals’ struggles during most of his two seasons in Oakland, Howell was known as a player who never quit, and who always gave it his all. After being traded to Los Angeles, he eventually made his way to the World Hockey Association. After his retirement, he returned to the NHL, this time as assistant general manager of the Seals’ descendants, the Cleveland Barons. When Bill McCreary was fired mid-way through the 1976-77 season, Howell became general manager, and he orchestrated many important deals, acquiring players like Gary Edwards, Walt McKechnie, J.P. Parise, and Chuck Arnason, all of whom played important roles in Cleveland’s ill-fated playoff push in 1977-78. When the Barons were merged with the Minnesota North Stars, Howell coached the team briefly before resigning from his post. He later served as a scout for the 1990 Edmonton Oilers, getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup.

His number 3 has been retired by the New York Rangers, and his 1,160 regular-season games played for the franchise is still the team’s all-time record. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979.

Hi everyone! Finally, after a month of sickness hell, everyone is feeling better at the Currier house. We’re all breathing clearly, noses stopped leaking, and coughing fits are now down to a minimum. To say the least, I have been more than happy to bid adios to February and greet March with a warm embrace. Now if only we can start the process of getting rid of all that cumbersome snow everywhere and everything will be alright.

This week, check out the brand new Hockey News articles posted about the Seals’ contract negotiations (or should I say lack of negotiations) near the end of the 1972-73 season. It must have been tough playing for the Seals during the Charlie Finley era. The team was a shambles, no one knew where the owner was at, and when he showed up it was to either gripe about how bad the team was, or to show off in front of his friends. Surprisingly, Finley actually spent some money in the off-season to keep the Seals’ best players around, so there would be no mass defections like there had been the year before, but there had definitely been concerns that whatever talent the Seals had was not going to be sticking around for long.

There is also a brand new induction to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame. This week’s card features Teemu Selanne and… Roy Firestone? And some of the worst fonts you ever did see. Yup.

So that’s that for this week. Keep coming back for more stats updates, articles, and other historical tidbits from everyone’s favorite defunct hockey team. Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Welcome back! I’m happy to say I am feeling much better this week and have been looking forward to enjoying this weekend, the first in nearly a month where I don’t expect to be tearing through Kleenex boxes, coughing away, and downing Buckley’s cold and flu capsules. I’m looking forward to a normal weekend, and maybe a little hockey on the TV, but before I get to that, some business to take care of here.

This week, my beloved Habs turned in an impressive 8-1 win over Detroit, and this week, in the articles section, you can read about a rare 8-1 win by the California Golden Seals. This game, November 7, 1971, took place just as the off-the-scrap-heap Seals were just starting to warm up and make a charge at a West Division playoff spot. Poor Jacques Plante really took one on the chin on this night, but don’t feel too bad for the Hall-of-Famer; one year later he started a game for the Leafs in which they would beat the Seals 11-0, and Plante was so bored in doing so, according to Seals broadcaster Joe Starkey, that the goalie didn’t even finish the game to earn himself the shutout.

Also, there is a brand new Overexposed card, this time featuring former Minnesota North Star, and Norm Ferguson rookie-of-the-year rival Danny Grant. It is not just an expose on another weird card from the classic 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set, but a tribute to some long-lost hockey legends of an animated kind.

So that’s about it for this week. Don’t forget to vote for your favorite Seals eligible for the 2019 Seals Hall of Fame. You can make your picks on the right side of the page. Keep spreading the word about the site too. I keep seeing new people showing up and sending e-mails with Seals memories, and it’s been great reading them!

Until next time, stay gold!