Hi everyone! It’s mid-May, and the NHL is down to its final four playoff teams, so you know what that means: Happy Leafs Elimination Day! That’s right, it’s that time once again, the happiest of happy days that the NHL and its fans see but once a year. Actually, to be fair, Leafs Elimination Day was last week, but since we were mourning the passing of former Seals coach Vic Stasiuk, I felt it would be inappropriate to be in a celebratory mood, and I wanted to show Stasiuk the proper respect.

Hockey is all about tradition. Perhaps the only other sport that embraces its past as much as hockey is baseball. Hockey’s past, however, still holds a bit of mystery due to the fact it was never covered as closely as the great American pastime. So it just that much more important that we, as hockey fans, continue to celebrate the game, and not let traditions fade away. If any of that makes any sense to you, then congratulations for following along. I think I may have gotten lost somewhere along the way myself.

Today we’re celebratin’ in style because it is time to party like it’s 1968! Ah, Leafs Elimination Day… it’s a lot like Easter only instead of sacrificing eating meat for forty days or so before the big day, Leafs Elimination Day comes first followed by the Leafs sacrificing about forty days worth of playoff games! Thank you folks, I’ll be here all week!

Alright, so now that we got that little bit of business out of the way, let’s get back to how the Seals can help us celebrate the big day. Today we’re going back to January 23, 1970. The Seals and the Leafs are both fighting tooth and nail in their respective divisions to grab hold of a playoff spot, and things ain’t looking so good for either team. Earl Ingarfield, who was enjoying a marvellous season up to that point, recorded his second hat trick of the season in helping the Seals score a 6-3 victory. You can find Spence Conley’s write-up of this very spirited game right here.

That’s about it for this week. I hope you all enjoy the rest of the playoffs. From what we all saw in game one of the Eastern Conference final, it is shaping up to be an interesting final few weeks of the season. Until next time, stay gold!

As you may have already heard, another member of the Seals is gone. Vic Stasiuk passed away on May 7 at the age of 93. Stasiuk became coach of the Seals in game four of the 1971-72 season after the team had started 0-1-2 under Fred Glover. The team showed remarkable improvement under Stasiuk and challenged for a playoff spot most of the season. A late-season tailspin destroyed the team’s chances, but the team’s future looked bright. Had it not been for the WHA that came along and signed most of the Seals’ top talent, the team might have continued to grow into a Stanley Cup contender, but of course that never happened. Shortly after the 1971-72 season, Stasiuk was fired and ended up coaching the Vancouver Canucks.

Before becoming a NHL coach, Stasiuk was one of the best players in the NHL. While in Boston, Stasiuk, who was of Ukrainian decent, was part of the famed Uke Line with Johnny Bucyk and Bronco Horvath. From 1956 to 1960, Stasiuk scored at least twenty goals each year, including a career-high 29 (and 68 points) in the last of those four seasons. He was traded to Detroit the following year where he played the final two and a half years of his career. Earlier in his career he had a previous stint with Detroit as well as 38 games with the Black Hawks.

After retiring, he became the second head coach of the Philadelphia Flyers, a job he held for two years before giving way to the legendary Fred Shero.

While Stasiuk wasn’t the most successful coach in Seals history, his one year behind the bench was memorable for many reasons. The team was loaded with young talent, and at times, the Seals were exciting and gave their fans hope for the future. In this week’s article, we go back to October 24, 1971, the night Stasiuk won his first game as coach of the Seals. After a horrendous 0-5-2 home stand, the Seals went on the road, and on their first stop, Detroit, they finally put a “1” in the win column. You can read all about the big night here.

Until next time, stay gold.

Hi everyone! I hope everyone has had a great week and is enjoying the spring weather. Hopefully, in your neck of the woods, the sun is shining just a little more and the air is feeling just a tad fresher. This afternoon, I had the good fortune to partake in a game of road shinny with my son, his friends, and their dads, and my 44-year-old body could not have been more winded. It felt great though to get out and slap that tennis ball around the court, even with the short left-handed stick I was forced to use (long story…). I’m sure we will both be sleeping well tonight. We were also able to take advantage of the nice weather and have ourselves a little backyard barbecue with cupcakes for dessert (did you know that Uber Eats even delivers desserts to your door? How I love living in 2023!)

This week, however, we’re going back to the usually dreary month of November, the 26th day to be exact, and the Minnesota North Stars are in Oakland to take on the Seals. The Stars are off to a terrific 14-4-3 start, while the Seals, after a horrendous 0-5-2 start, have since gone 7-7-1 and have vaulted back into the playoff picture. On this night, it would be Gump Worsley vs Gilles Meloche, the oldest goaltender in the league against one of the youngest, and it would be the maskless wonder Worsley who would come out on top despite the Seals’ best efforts to break him. You can find the article about this game right here.

In case anyone is planning on being in the Ottawa area on Saturday June 17th, I will be attending the Ottawa Small Press Book Fair from noon to 5pm, and selling both of my books (and other goodies!). Autographs are free, if you possibly want one of these so you can get that extra nickel selling used copies of my books on eBay. Win-win! You can find out about the fair right here.

In closing, I hope you are all enjoying this year’s Stanley Cup playoffs, and if you haven’t had the chance to catch a game so far, do yourself a favor and take in a contest. Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! You’re probably wondering what today’s title could possibly mean. I was looking for a new article to post this week, and I really had no idea which one to pick, so I just chose a random game from a random season: March 25, 1970, Oakland vs. Philadelphia. Ok, so maybe I picked it because I could sense it would be historic. After all, it was the last head-to-head battle between the two division rivals, and I knew that both teams ended the season with 58 points, tied for fourth place in the West division. I had no idea, however, that the game had been a heart-stopping classic. The teams were tied 2-2 late in the third period when the Seals’ Joe Hardy scored the game-winner with just 12 ticks of the clock to go. Think of the ramifications of this. Had Hardy not scored that goal, the Seals would have ended up with 57 points, and the Flyers, had they won, would have had 59, and thus no need for a tie-breaker to decide fourth place. Of course, you can also argue that if the Flyers hadn’t gone on a 5-18-8 tailspin to close out the schedule, they could have finished as high as second place. Or you could argue that if the Flyers had converted just one of their 24 tie games into a win, they could have squeaked into fourth place. Take your pick. You can read all about Gypsy Joe’s season-altering goal right here.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! It has been one interesting week to say the least. The Canadian federal government workers have been on strike since Wednesday, meaning my school, which teaches French to said government employees, has been rather quiet the last few days. Not like “early Covid days” quiet, but quiet nonetheless. It has been rather pleasant in a way. Very few student complaints have been rolling into my inbox. I’ve had a bit more time during the day to browse the Internet for Seals-related things and a few days ago, I stumbled upon a very interesting website that pays tribute to former Seals first-round pick Ralph Klassen. I think you will all enjoy looking over it. It was created by a B.C. elementary school teacher to show his students how to do a proper research. The page contains several wonderful and rare photos of Klassen and his teammates in action, both in Seals and Barons uniforms. There is also lots of cool shots of Seals and Barons memorabilia, not to mention other great photos of Klassen’s career in junior hockey , in international hockey and with the Colorado Rockies and St. Louis Blues. Overall, it is a very warm tribute to a talented, but often overlooked member of the franchise. For those of you who were fans of the team’s later years, you will surely feel the warm and fuzzies perusing the Klassen site, which you can find here.

That’s about it for this week. I hope you all have a great weekend, and I hope to see you back here soon. Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed a great long weekend, and a good return to work. It has been one spectacular week here weather-wise. The mercury hit 27 degrees Celsius in Ottawa just two days ago, and it has been over twenty degrees every day since. We’re finally going to bring out the patio furniture (mainly because the 10 ft x 6 ft x 2 ft mound of snow blocking the gate to the back yard has finally melted away). That means it’s time for barbecues in the yard, and meals outside, meaning the kids can spill as much food on the ground as they want and I won’t have to pick it up. It’ll be great!

It’s been so hot outside recently that the temperature in my basement office has plummeted to about 57 degrees Fahrenheit. And then it got me thinking about the basement-dwelling Seals. This week, I’ve posted an article from November 22, 1972, the day after the Seals lost to the expansion New York Islanders for the second time. It was just the third win of the season for the Islanders, who would win a grand total of 12 the whole year. One could sense that newly re-appointed head coach Fred Glover was not going to enjoy his second stint behind the Seals bench as his frustration already started to show. Surprisingly, he lasted another 16 months… quite possibly the most difficult 16 months of his life. You can all about the Seals-Isles game right here.

As an added bonus this week, I invite you to check out the Google preview of my latest book. It’s a whopping 32 pages, so if you’re on the fence about buying the book, this preview should help make your decision a little easier.

That’s it until next week. Hope you all have a great weekend, and that the weather is as nice as it is up in my corner of the globe. Don’t forget to catch a little playoff hockey in the coming days! Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! As you can see, another member of the Seals family has passed away. Dave Gardner, a member of the team from 1974 to 1978, passed away March 20th at the age of 70. Cal Gardner, an excellent player for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1940s and 1950s was his father, and his brother Paul was a solid goal-scorer in the late 1970s and 1980s with Colorado, Toronto, and Pittsburgh.

Dave Gardner had some great offensive skills as well. He was a big-time scorer with the Toronto Marlies alongside linemates Steve Shutt and Billy Harris. That combination scored close to 400 points one year, and all three became high NHL draft picks. Harris went first overall to the expansion New York Islanders in 1972, Shutt went fourth to Montreal, and Gardner went eighth to the Habs. While Shutt gradually improved his game and became a mainstay in Montreal, Gardner played just 36 games over two years there before being traded to St. Louis in March 1974 for a first-round draft pick. The following year, Gardner was dealt to the Seals where he would finally get the ice-time he deserved. In his four years with the Seals and Barons, Gardner would enjoy his greatest NHL success scoring 166 points in 289 games. The 1975-76 season proved to be his best: 16 goals, 32 assists. During that season, he had a particularly hot hand during a three-game stretch from February 11 to 15 where he scored 10 points. When the Barons and North Stars merged in 1978, Gardner was sent to L.A. with a few other Barons players as compensation for Minnesota’s signing of Gary Sargent. Gardner never suited up for L.A., and he played just two more NHL games, those being for Philadelphia a few years later. He finished out his career in Switzerland before returning to Canada to coach high school hockey.

To remember Dave Gardner, I’ve posted an article from February 6, 1975 after he had scored two goals against the Washington Capitals. You can read about Gardner’s first two-goal game as a Seal right here. R.I.P. Dave.

I also stumbled upon a touching article written by the great Stan Fischler about former Cleveland Barons defenseman Jean Potvin. Of course, Potvin is more known as a member of the New York Islanders, where he played alongside his Hall-of-Fame brother Denis for a number of years. Jean, a defenseman like his younger brother, was no slouch, however, putting up some good numbers in the mid-1970s as the Isles moved up to the top of the standings. Jean passed away one year ago, and was memorialized very recently by family members, former teammates, and other close friends. Click on this link to go the article.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Glad to be back, and glad it is the weekend once again! I am so looking forward to sleeping in tomorrow and Sunday. This Daylight Savings thing absolutely sucks. Getting up before the sun just doesn’t seem right now, does it? But that all goes away on the weekend, the sweet, sweet weekend. I’m gonna take back my sleep now, and it is going to feel so good. I wouldn’t say it is anything like getting revenge on Daylight Savings or anything, but I really don’t know how else to segue to this week’s new article.

This week we go back to 1977 to see what the Cleveland Barons were up to in the weeks leading up to Christmas. To be more precise we’re going back to November 30, and the Toronto Maple Leafs are in town looking to sweep a home-and-home series against the Richfield Coliseum’s residents. The Barons? They were looking for sweet revenge! The Leafs were on a bit of a roll this season, challenging the Bruins and Sabres for first place in the Adams Division. In the end, they were close but fell short of that goal, but in the playoffs, the Leafs were one of the last four teams standing. The Barons, however, were not only not one of those four teams, but they were basically counting down the days to the big Minnesota-Cleveland merger. You can read all about the Barons’ retaliation right here.

Hope you all have yourselves a great weekend! Enjoy some games, and catch some “z”s. Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! I hope everyone is having a great weekend and is able to enjoy some nice weather. Not sure about where you live, but the weather here in Ottawa has been just beautiful the last week or so. After a blast of winter left us with some 15 centimetres of snow exactly one week ago, it’s been single digits (Celcius) ever since, and while I’m sad the outdoor rinks are pretty much done for the season, I’m happy to see sunshine and brown grass again. I don’t want to jinx things, but it finally feels like spring is here. I also got to celebrate my birthday, which was a nice way to end the work week. Fun fact: no Seals or Barons were born on March 10, and the Seal born closest to my birthday is Gary Kurt (born March 9).

Gary “Cobra” Simmons was born July 19, 1944, and did not make his NHL debut until 30 years later, but once he reached hockey’s highest league, he made the most of it, posting five shutouts and a solid 3.57 goals-against average in 107 career games. He never won the Stanley Cup, but he left a lasting impression on everyone he played with, and his legendary “cobra” mask (rattle mistake and all) are nestled safely in the confines of the Hockey Hall of Fame. The last 18 games of his career were spent with the L.A. Kings, and this week’s article, from a 1977 Goal magazine, comes just a few weeks after Simmons was dealt West. In the article, we learn about Cobra’s tattoos, his allergy to horses, and some of the finer moments of his NHL and WHL years. This short, light, enjoyable article can be found here. Thanks to John Heberling for sending the Goal magazine my way so I can share one of its articles with you.

Until next time, stay gold!

Hi everyone! Have I got some great reading material for you this week, but before we get into that, a little quiz. Get your thinking caps on and take a few seconds (or minutes) to figure this one out:

Everyone who has been to this site before knows that the original NHL Seals, circa 1967-68, failed pretty spectacularly. According to Barry van Gerbig, which of the following reasons explained this phenomenon?

a) the Oakland Raiders winning the AFL championship

b) the arrival of the Oakland A’s

c) an indecisive Rick Barry

d) all of the above

I would tell you the answer, but instead I will urge you to read Ed Levitt’s piece from the January 18, 1968 Oakland Tribune, where the answer may shock and surprise you. To be precise, it’s not the answer itself that will shock and surprise you, but rather Barry van Gerbig’s complete unawareness of reality and the true source of the Seals’ dismal failure in year one of their NHL adventure. As a bonus, Levitt also talks about how the trade that brought in Ted Hampson, Bert Marshall, and John Brenneman would revolutionize the Seals. He was right in that the Hampson and Marshall would be key contributors to the club for the next few years, although there was only so much these two quality players could do. Brenneman was also a useful addition, but most of his contributions were concentrated on the final months of 1967-68.

As an added bonus, a second article from the same day’s Oakland Tribune where we see the immediate impact of Hampson and Brenneman on the Seals. I’m literally talking Batman-and-Robin-on-Gotham-City impact. Seriously. You can find both articles here. Enjoy!

Anyway, that’s it for today folks. Hope you all have a great weekend! Until next time, stay gold!